Bared Naked
by More Than I Appear
Summary: Ch 10! While Kyuubi is forced to defend herself, Kisame completes the mission she gave him and runs into the search party. Selene pulls a fast one, Kyuubi’s new servants get their new names at long last, and a new kitsune joins the Nine Tails' party.
1. Prologue: Sunday Night

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Naruto, nor do I make any money from using their likenesses. I do this for pure entertainment only.

**Bared Naked**

**Prologue: Sunday Night**

The night was clear and dark over the Village Hidden in the Leaves and all of the village's inhabitants had long since retired for the evening's preparations of another hard day's work tomorrow once the sun rose again. The streets were bereft of humans and only the occasional cat or dog searching for a safe place to bed down moving about.

Except for one restless young man wandering the streets and…

-Is that him?-

-That kid is our target?-

-Yes. Don't let your guard down. He is much more capable than he appears. Now get ready.-

The three figures cautiously stalking him that were more than they appeared to be.

Slowly, oh so slowly, they crept closer to the young man. He was no more than a boy really and so it was a bit confusing as to why they had been sent to grab him but their orders had come directly from the leader of their village. One did not argue with such an order, no matter how suicidal the task seemed.

Their target paused and looked in their direction. He kept one hand in his jacket pocket while the other was allowed to hang by his side- right by his kunai knife holder. He continued to appear relaxed but small involuntary movements gave away his wariness. The youth scanned the area briefly before letting his eyes come to rest on the three again, right hand hovering over the handle of one of the blades.

-He's on to us!-

-Shut up!- The leader of the group hissed at his subordinate, sending the two scampering off into opposite alley ways as if frightened of him. Once the two had vanished into the night, their leader began to scent the air, letting his nose lead him closer to the young man.

_I'm hungry,_ Nose in the air, he continued the ruse, staying just out of reach of the youth as he circled the boy. _Can't you see I'm just trying to find some food?_ He let out a small mewl for emphasis.

The boy wavered and his hand drifted away from his knives, instead reaching back to dig into the little hip pouch attached to his belt. Before his hand could disappear into its hidden depths however, it paused and resettled again by the boy's side. He took a step backwards, warily watching his street side companion.

He'd smelled the trap and was preparing to defend.

-Now!- The leader shouted and suddenly the night was alive with movement. The three hit the youth from all sides, nimbly evading his counterattacks with their superior agility and night vision. They were smaller targets, harder to hit, and they slashed mercilessly at the youth. They slowly worked him further down the street, deeper into the dark and away from help, waiting for an opening patiently as only the experienced could. Their efforts were rewarded, the final blow struck as teeth sank home, and the three leaped away out of danger.

The boy gasped, holding a hand to the bite site, knees starting to buckle as the poison spread. He let out a cry, startling the three and causing lights to flicker into being as near by houses responded to his voice. He shrieked, body falling to the ground, hunching over in pain and agony as his limbs were forced into an unfamiliar shape. The still night was filled with thick, meaty tearing sounds and muted popping as bones and muscles rearranged themselves. It was painful and the boy let the village hear his pain unabashedly for several minutes before succumbing to the after effects of such a form shift. The yelling soon died away, degenerating into pathetic mewling as the youth shrank and disappeared from view into the clothing that he had been wearing. The pile of cloth quivered, one tiny paw emerging and flexing in the air before flopping back to lie still.

Lights lit up the little street, angry faces appearing in windows as curtains were swept aside. That anger only increased when the source of all the noise was revealed to be a small gathering of stray felines. Some one chucked a shoe at them, which they dodged easily before finally moving toward the fabric and its new contents, the leader sniffing judiciously at the small paw.

-He's out.- The leader announced, bending forward to pick up the newly transformed teenager.

-That was easy. With all the preparations you'd think the kid was a demon or something.- His second groused, pawing at the ground unhappily.

-Seriously, this was overkill.-The third one agreed, tail held arrogantly in the air. He sauntered a few steps away and looked up, surprise and annoyance darting across his feline features.

-Over confidence killed the cat!- The trio's leader snarled, the effect diminished since he had his teeth firmly sunk into the scruff of the kitten's neck. He pulled the rest of the fur covered body free, dragging it clear of the discarded clothing entirely. -Get over here and help me!- He yowled, looking around for his subordinates, both of whom seemed to have paled several shades. -He's heavier…- Then he heard it too, the sounds that had caught his companions attention.

A door burst open a few feet ahead of them, the owner of the domicile waving a fist at them all as he shouted. "Be quiet you mangy fur balls or I'll give you something to cry about!" A rusted pot was tossed at them, making them scatter, the leader having to leap away from his prize in order to avoid injury.

The two other cats hissed at the man, voices blending together as they let loose menacing yowls in challenge.

-NO!- Their leader yelled but it was already too late. There was a scraping sound, loud in the night, and then barking.

Lots and lots of barking.

"Heel!" The man yelled, moving his bulk from the door frame and allowing the source of all that barking to spill into the street. Big dogs, little dogs, and every size in between were quickly gathered in the road, each panting excitedly, some doing little circle dances of joy, every one of them looking at the three adult cats hungrily, as if some person had thoughtfully placed a sign next to them that read 'All you can eat buffet.'

"Attack!" The order given, the dogs surged forward en mass, jaws snapping, drool flying. Fur on end, the three felines fled into the night, splitting up and using all their feline prowess just to stay out of reach of the vicious canines chasing them. The kitten, the trio's prize, was abandoned and all too soon the little body disappeared from view under the canine tidal wave. As the three fled deeper into the village, howls of victory rent the air behind them and the leader of the three cats cursed his subordinates, wondering how he was going to explain the death of the last Uchiha heir to their waiting master.

Thank you very much for reading. I hope you'll check back for chapter 1. Constructive criticism is always welcome.


	2. Chapter 1: With A little Help From My Fr

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Naruto, nor do I make any money from using their likenesses. I do this for purely entertainment purposes only.

_blah -_thoughts

-blah- kitty speech

**Chapter 1: With a Little Help From My Friends**

"Ick. I can see its bones." A childish voice was saying, sounding unbearably loud as Sasuke roused.

"Poor little baby!" Another was crying, drops of moisture falling down onto him. "It's dead!"

Actually, Sasuke was not but, as he fully became conscious, part of him wised that he was. Pain, unrelenting wave after wave, hit him, making him twitch helplessly and soundlessly since he could not seem to get enough air to breathe. Head reeling, the young Uchiha tried desperately to figure out what was going on and what had happened to him that he was injured so badly.

"He's still alive!" Yet another child was shouting excitedly. "We need to get him to the vet!"

-What about a doctor?- Sasuke tried to ask, but could only manage a gurgle. -I want to go to the hospital, right now!-

He forced an eye open, gazing up at his rescuers blurrily. He could not name them but the three kids did look familiar if absurdly sized. No way could they be that big- Sasuke was taller than them by two feet normally so there was no possible way from them to actually be the seemingly gigantic proportions they sported now. Something was wrong with his eyesight, Sasuke concluded, shutting his eye again as he began to feel dizzy and sick.

"…And it's really hurt! Boss, you've got to help us!" Someone was saying.

"What makes you think I know anything about cats?" Now _that_ voice Sasuke did recognize and he forced his one obedient eye open again, vaguely relieved at the sight of his blonde teammate. He lost focus for a second, one blue eye filling his vision as a _huge_ Naruto Uzamaki leaned down and peered at him before kneeling on the ground. The blonde removed his coat and spread it flat on the ground in front of the Uchiha as he rattled off instructions to the fidgeting kids, his large tanned hands reaching forward and easing Sasuke onto the jacket.

The brief move caused the young Uchiha to know a new level of agony. He writhed, arching backwards as his hands splayed and clawed at the sky, his mouth working to gulp down air as he tried to swallow back a scream.

"I'm sorry." Naruto was saying, hands gently wrapping Sasuke up in the jacket. "Help's on the way." The Uchiha felt himself being lifted and cradled against the blonde's chest before checking out of consciousness again.

(Scene change. Sorry about this but I can get nothing to work in this miserable editor program)

"Children, I'm afraid there isn't much I can do for it."

Sasuke, feeling an impending sense of doom, did not like the way this conversation was going. He was laying on his side on an exam table, uncomfortable but not in nearly as much pain as he had been. He wasn't sure why exactly, but he wasn't going to question it right now. He could still only open one eye, but at least he could now see defined objects, his vision clearing up nicely from the hazy blur the world had been before. His gaze flicked around, landing on the white gauze hiding sections of his new shape from sight.

He was a cat. The last viable member of Clan Uchiha was now a small, scruffy grey tabby kitten. Oh how the mighty had fallen! Sasuke was convinced that he had won some sort of cosmic lottery and now his pain was entertainment for some higher power. The lunacy of the entire scenario did not escape him.

"But he's looking better now!" One of the kids was saying, and again Sasuke was plagued by the feeling that he should know the kid, that he should know all three children imploring the vet for aid on his behalf.

There was a heavy sigh from above and behind Sasuke. "There's only so much that the medicine I gave him can do. It's a temporary solution at best, Konahamaru, and I think you really need to consider the long term repercussions, here. He's been mauled severely and his wounds show signs of infection. I can't do any more than prolong his suffering."

Sasuke _really_ didn't like where the doctor was going with this. The man was hedging, hinting around the issue without coming right out and saying it. The tactic was usually employed when an adult was about to reveal an awful truth about life to a child but didn't want to seem superior or cruel about it. You led the child logically toward the desired conclusion then made it seem as if the child had come up with the idea all by themselves thus making the choice more acceptable.

It was a way to be a bad person without appearing so; a convenient cop-out as far as Sasuke was concerned.

A gentle hand stroked Sasuke's head. "I think we may have to consider what's best for Kitty. You don't want him to suffer any more do you? You saw how much pain he was in before."

Nope, not liking this one bit. Sasuke decided a tactical retreat was in order and he rolled slowly onto his belly. He bit back a cry of pain, instead sinking his teeth into the veterinarian's hand when the man tried to put him back on his side. The room erupted into pandemonium as the man began yelling, as the kids began yelling, as animals in other parts of the building began adding their own two cents to the cacophony. The young Uchiha held on, working the bite as deep as possible before finally releasing the man. Ignoring all the noise around him, Sasuke instead concentrated on trying to get his legs under him and ultimately getting the hell out of there.

"What is…?" Naruto's voice sounded so close that the blonde had to be near the exam table. Sasuke managed to get his rear legs under him and pushed for all he was worth. It was hard to tell if the blonde had moved with everything else going on but Sasuke held onto blind faith that his teammate remained behind him. The kitten angled himself in that direction, time seeming to slow as he forced himself onward, unresponsive front legs splayed forward and to the side, his ass and tail in the air while he pushed with his two protesting back legs.

Swallowing his pride, Sasuke paused and panted before letting out a long, loud wail.

_Please,_ He prayed as the appendages he had had control over rebelled and gave out. Limbs floppy and useless, feeling desperate, he called out to the blonde who was now his only hope of survival. -Naruto, you idiot, it's me! It's Sasuke and this guy wants to euthanize me! Get me out of here!-

Sasuke bet that Sakura would have figured it out immediately but instead of being able to depend on his highly capable teammate, the Uchiha's life was in the hands of one of the worst ninjas in the Village's history.

He wanted to cry, he really did, as he laid there. _I'm doomed! I'm going to die a cat! _Thinking the situation hopeless, Sasuke barely registered the fact that he had been lifted off the table until he was lain against someone's shoulder with one hand under his hind legs, another firmly against his back, in a manner similar to how one would support an infant.

-About time, fool!- He buried his nose against the neck of his rescuer He flexed his front paws, feeling his tiny new claws spring out. He hooked those claws into his protector's shirt, making it clear that he did not want to be put down. Sasuke clung, and even while the more rational side told him how appalling- how disgraceful- his behavior was, the Uchiha couldn't make himself let go.

(Scene change)

"Na-Naruto, how are you today?"

Naruto looked up and straightened. He had been leaning against the front of the animal clinic, waiting for Konahamaru and the others to come back with their new cat, studying the ground while he mentally went over his grocery list. He put his hands behind his head and smiled as his former class mate came over.

"Hi Hinata!" The blonde grinned, oblivious to the slight crimson tint spreading across the girl's cheeks. He noticed her outfit, a definite switch from her normal attire of a plain sweat shirt with a hood, black Capri pants, and sandals. The weather wasn't warm enough in Naruto's estimation to warrant a shift to lighter clothing but as long as she was comfortable, what did his opinion matter? The dark blue did look quite good on her, though, managing to stand out without actually overwhelming her naturally pale coloring. The bright golden crane pattern on the lapels and sleeves were eye-catching, creating the illusion that the birds flew on their own as Hinata moved. "Hey, that's a pretty yukata! Is it for the festival?"

The crimson tint became a full blown blush. She nodded, not trusting her voice, and fidgeted with her clothing nervously. They stood in silence for a while, one trying to marshal her courage while the other tried to remember any subject of mutual interest they could discuss. It would have been natural to continue with the upcoming holiday but the subject matter wasn't one most discussed with people outside their family. It was a festival of pain, of soothing survivor's guilt and reconnecting with loved ones long put in the ground.

In short, not a topic of polite conversation.

"Have, have you been training?" Hinata asked, noticing the smudges and scrapes marring his skin. His pants were also looking shabby in places.

Naruto smirked and ducked his head, behaving like she had caught him doing something he shouldn't have been doing. "Yeah, you caught me."

Hinata frowned, pulling a handkerchief from one of her sleeves. "But I thought that we were supposed to use the holiday as a chance for reflection and relaxation."

Then she remembered that her teammates had decided to take advantage of the break to have their own training session tomorrow and felt somewhat hypocritical.

Naruto lowered his arms slowly, his smile fading away as he opened his blue eyes fully and looked at her. Of the two of them, Naruto had expected himself to make that particular social blunder, not Hinata Hyuga.

"I'm, I'm sorry!" She stuttered, mistaking his silence for anger. She fidgeted again, unconsciously twisting the piece of cloth in her hands. "I shouldn't have said that…"

"Hinata, it's okay!" Naruto reassured her, reaching forward and taking her hands in his to stop their nervous motions. "You're right, but you know me: I can't stand sitting still for anything."

She smiled and blushed furiously.

"Besides," Naruto said seriously. "If you concentrate too much on the past, you can't move forward. If you let it, your memories will consume you."

_Naruto… _Hinata stared at him, feeling her heart swell as she discovered yet another side to her secret crush. She let her grip on the handkerchief relax, noticing that the blonde still held her hands in his. She blushed furiously, embarrassed and extremely pleased all at the same time. But then her little bubble of happiness sprang a leak as she noticed something else as they touched. She frowned and looked over the scrapes on his arms, at the cuts on his hands.

"Naruto," She began, pleased with herself that she had been able to say his name without stuttering. "Are, are you feeling all right?"

He blinked, grin fading into an expression of perplexity. He looked down at their hands, realizing that he was being rude and had effectively invaded the hell out of her personal space. He let go of her abruptly, jumping back and then back-peddling a few steps more to be safe. "Whoa! Sorry!"

The sudden loss of his grip on her, of just that brief small touch, made her feel lonely. She wanted him to touch her again, wanted him to take her hands again so badly that she closed the distance between them. Before she could think otherwise or talk herself out of it, Hinata grabbed his hands, trapping them between hers in a reverse of their prior positions. She held them tightly, part of her feeling slightly greedy and shocked at her behavior, part of her tremendously proud of herself to do something so out of character; Hinata had been working so hard to improve herself and now here was evidence that she was succeeding.

She shook her head in a quick, forceful motion. "No!" She said a bit loudly, making the blonde jump. Perhaps she had done _too_ good a job; her sudden aggressive outburst had put her former classmate on edge but she would not release him. "I mean you feel _warm_!"

The last came out a bit desperate, a verbal reflection of her own mental pleading that they should continue chatting like this. It felt like she was slipping back into her former shyness, like putting on a set of clothing that no longer fit correctly or felt comfortable.

_Dammit Hinata!_ She berated herself. _Find a middle ground!_

"Oh," Naruto blinked, and though his cheeks were a bit pink, he stopped trying to pull his hands back. "Yeah. Well… that happens to me this time of year. Allergies, I think." Though he continued to face her, his eyes glanced away.

First to the upper left, then to the lower right.

_Some one is hurting him!_ Hinata did a mental double take at the thought, trying to make sense of it, unsure of how she had leapt to the conclusion but trusting it all the same. She looked at Naruto again, really looked at him, examining the scrapes that marred his skin, the dirt smeared here and there. Taking a tight grip on his wrists, she looked at his hands, specifically studing the swollen and cut up knuckles.

A hot spurt of frustration flooded her as she looked at all the evidence before her. All of these injuries could be from exactly what the blonde attributed them too- none of it screamed of outright abuse. None of it could help prove her theory.

But…what if it wasn't abuse? Everything could be explained away by training except the fever. The day was cool, however, and there wasn't enough sweat on his skin to attribute it to rigorous exercise…

Though she was unwilling to let the abuse theory go completely, Hinata ignored it for now and thought through all the possible explanations. Naruto had a fever but that was it. Allergies usually came with more noticeable symptoms since the allergen threw the sufferer's immune system into overload but Naruto wasn't showing anything else aside from the fever.

So it wasn't allergies but what if it was something more mundane, more common?

"N-Naruto," Hinata began timidly, recapturing his gaze and starring straight into his blue, blue eyes. "Are you sick?"

Come to think of it, Naruto had rarely been sick in all the years she had known him. If fact, Hinata realized with a little mental start, she had _never_ seen Naruto sick. Bruised and scuffed up but not once had he ever sniffled or coughed. The blonde's elevated temperature could simply be explained as natural body heat since some people did run hotter than others.

Except that Hinata knew from personal experience that this did not apply to Naruto and though he could run warmer, his skin had never gotten as hot as it was currently.

He blinked, an expression of wariness suddenly darting across his face before being replaced with surprise. Though he tried to still give off the appearance of being relaxed, there was something in his stance that suggested that he was far from calm, some tension that hadn't been present previously.

_But why?_ She wondered. What had she said to provoke such a reaction? What had she done wrong?! Why was he acting so…cornered?

"I'm, I'm sorry!" She stuttered anxiously, loosening her grip on his hands. She didn't let go, however, just gave him enough space to withdraw if he wanted. "I-I d-didn't mean to p-pry!"

Naruto sighed suddenly, extracting one hand from hers to scratch the back of his head. He shuffled his feet a little, looking down at the ground.

"It's just a cold." He muttered softly, so softly that Hinata almost didn't hear him. The hand she very near clung to gave her fingers a reassuring squeeze. "Nothing to worry about."

He smiled, a bare twitching of lips, and pulled his remaining hand from her grip.

Hinata felt suddenly, unexpectedly, cut adrift. Her hands twitched as she folded them in front of her but she forced them to relax as she tried to think of some subject to talk about that would overcome their sudden awkwardness. She fretted, and began touching her index fingers together when she drew a complete blank. They lapsed into a few minutes in uncomfortable silence.

"I hope things aren't too serious." Naruto remarked, turning toward the doorway they had been conversing in front of. He folded his arms over his chest, lips pursing comically as he frowned, blue eyes slightly narrowed.

Hinata seized onto the obvious logical question without any further thought. "N-Naruto, wh-why are you outside of the vet clinic?"

Naruto scrubbed a hand roughly through his unruly blonde hair. "Well, the kids found this kitten that had been hurt real bad, see, and they asked me for help."

"Kids?" Hinata questioned, eyes widening in surprise. Whose kids? Did _Naruto_ have _kids?! _She blushed fiercely at the thought.

"Yah," Naruto continued obliviously, still looking toward the doorway. "They look up to me, ya know, so I suppose it isn't a surprise or anything, but I don't know anything about healing that much damage on a human much less a kitten."

Hinata nodded, unsure as to how to reply. "How badly was the kitten hurt?" She asked instead, immediately regretting it when Naruto's expression saddened.

"Pretty badly." He said at length. "I'm going to see-"

From inside the building erupted a torrent of noise the likes of which would have been more appropriate on a battle field and nothing like anything that should have been coming from a veterinarian's office. Naruto charged through the doorway with Hinata right behind him as back up, the two ninjas-in-training on full alert with weapons drawn.

The two had expected a battle and, despite the odd location, they were not disappointed. The kids were trying to restrain a man who had to be the vet and all four of them were yelling bloody murder. With Konahamaru's two side-kicks holding onto his legs and the ring leader himself riding the vet's back. The man was loosing the battle against them which was good since he looked ready to kill the kitten and the kids.

"What the…?" Naruto began, confused. He sheathed his kunai knife, sliding it into its holster with practiced ease. The blonde stood by the end of the exam table and looked behind him at Hinata, the kunoichi staring back at him obviously as baffled as he was.

Sensing movement, the blonde looked down at the table and watched a bundle of fur push itself awkwardly toward him. It struggled desperately, the kitten propelling itself onward only by its rear legs. It fought with everything it had to get as far as it could before its legs collapsed.

It mewled, long and loud, and the sound made Naruto's heart lurch. He reached forward, scooping up the small animal and laying it against his shoulder. The blonde held it like a baby because it seemed natural and continued to do so even after the little feline dug his claws into Naruto's shirt- and skin.

"KNOCK IT OFF!" Naruto yelled when things didn't quiet down by themselves.

"He wants to kill the kitten!" Konahamaru shouted. "It bit him and now he wants to kill it!"

The other two kids nodded vigorously in agreement and did not let go of the man's legs.

Naruto glared at the vet and, behind him, Hinata chipped in with her own stern look, too.

"Let him go." The blonde ordered, nodding to himself when the kids did as they were told and hurried over to his side of the room. "We're leaving. Give us some medicine and the bill."

"That animal is in severe pain." The man panted, holding gauze firmly against his right hand, presumably over the bite. "It's kinder to put it down than to make it suffer!"

"Maybe," Naruto shot back, shoulders tensing up in anger. "But this kitten wants to live for how ever long he has left and you have _NO_ right to take that away from it!" Naruto roared into the room. "This little guy is a fighter and he deserves a chance to fight to the bitter end! That's his choice and I'm going to see to it that he's allowed to do so!"

The blonde snorted like an irate bull for emphasis, digging into his pocket one handed for his wallet. He slapped some money on the exam table like a challenge and marched over to the room's medicine cabinet, opening the door with a bit too much force and peering at the bottles. Naruto's ire faltered as he tried to figure out which one to grab, a heavy drop of sweat dripping from his temple.

"This one," Hinata murmured, appearing at his side and pointing discretely at a particular bottle. He nodded in its direction and, blushing, she selected her choice from the cabinet. Naruto grabbed and pocketed a small feeding bottle before shutting the cupboard door.

"We're leaving now!" Naruto announced loudly, for all the world like a flustered mother with an unruly bunch of kids. Konahamaru and his friends ran out the door of the clinic into the street, Hinata and Naruto walking stiffly behind them.

"You are sentencing that thing to an agonizing death!" The vet screamed behind them as they walked down the street. "It probably won't last an hour!"

"Then I'll see to it that it gets that hour!" Naruto yelled back, having stopped to respond and shake a fist in the man's direction.

"Yeah!" Konahamaru chimed in too, mimicking his idol's stance. "Go play God with another animal!"

"Yeah!" The other two agreed.

All three of the kids snorted like Naruto had in the office- or at least managed a reasonable facsimile. Hinata bit her bottom lip, trying to look stern and determined while suppressing the urgent need to laugh at her companions antics. Naruto looked over at her with a similar expression, holding his free hand up, fingers making a victory sign. Blushing and smiling openly, Hinata made the same sign right back at him.

The man continued to stare long after the five had turned and vanished into the crowd that had gathered to watch the spectacle.

More's Moment:

To head off any confusion, let me explain the leap of logic Hinata has while talking to Naruto. Whether you read the manga or watch the anime (or both, like me) when Hinata and Neji are about to do battle, Hinata's eyes do the same thing during the preceding conversation. Neji explains what the eye movements mean so I can't take credit for the interpretation.

Is it just me or does anyone else have a problem working the editing program?! It's driving me crazy and making updates slow!

Happy tales, everyone.

Please review.


	3. Chapter 2: Shopping

**Chapter 2: Shopping**

Naruto stroked the kitten reassuringly as he once again mulled over his shopping list, adding in the items that he was going to need to help his new charge. Milk was going to be needed, as well as some fish if he could get his hands on one that wasn't spoiling. He already had a small basket for its bed and enough clean towels to line it with, so that wouldn't be a problem. His medicine chest had already been well stocked with gauze and the like the week before the festival so he was set there, too. He'd also already stocked up on dry goods, had already set up the dinners, and had made up some home made protein bars- his primary source of nutrition for the holiday- so those were a few more points in his favor.

_Hmm… So milk and some fish... or maybe beef?_ _Shouldn't be too hard._

Oh. Wait.

Naruto stopped and made a small sound of frustration. It was a holiday, it was _that_ holiday, and there was no one who was going to sell him unspoiled or undamaged merchandise. The 'celebration' lasted all week long and, though vendors would remain open, Naruto would be unable to do any shopping at all for the simple fact that no one would be willing to sell to him.

He was the living vessel for the fox demon, after all, and this was the fifteenth anniversary of the monster's defeat. More so than normal, Naruto was persona non grata in the village during this time of year, and as such he usually stayed very quietly barricaded in his apartment during the event for safety reasons- a child could not take on an entire angry, grief stricken village and survive. The blonde had adapted out of necessity, having learned early that discretion was indeed not only the better part of valor but also of survival. Stocked up on everything he would need, he simply spent the week studying within the confines of his apartment with all the doors and windows locked and armed.

Besides, it wasn't like he'd be fit to be out in public anyway.

"N-Naruto," Hinata began, nervously tapping her index fingers together. "Is something the matter?"

"Oh," the blonde started, jerking himself back to the present. "Not exactly. I was just thinking about some stuff I had to buy…"

"Can I help with anything?" She asked immediately, the kids also listening attentively.

He blinked, opening his mouth to say no when he realized that she actually could. "Well…"

* * *

"I'd like this fish, please." Hinata said, pointing at the item in question. The man held it out to her for inspection and, after leaning forward to scrutinize it, she nodded to show it met with her approval.

_This is so much fun!_ She thought happily, excitement making her almost giddy. _I feel like Naruto's wife, shopping for our dinner!_

Though her mildly interested expression remained unchanged, inside Hinata Hyuuga was on cloud nine. She honestly didn't think she'd ever been so happy- she didn't even feel dejected when she remembered that she didn't know how to cook anything. In fact, if Naruto hadn't given her tips on what to specifically look for, she wouldn't even be able to select unspoiled items.

"I'd also like a dozen eggs and some of your beef, thinly cut." She ordered, taking the freshly wrapped fish. She accepted the new items confidently, having to juggle a bit while she dug through Naruto's wallet for payment. Smiling radiantly, she accepted the change from the blushing shopkeeper, put it and the blonde's wallet away and went off to meet Naruto.

* * *

The blonde was sitting under a large tree, kitten cradled on its back against one of his arms while the other held a small bottle to the animal's lips. The kitten was wrapped in Naruto's jacket, and as such Hinata got some very lovely glimpses of his muscular shoulders and arms as she hurried over to him. With a concentration not often seen outside of happy expectant fathers, Naruto was feeding the kitten, letting it nurse at its own pace while alternately offering it words of encouragement and also talking with his three young friends who sat around him.

"Hinata's back!" Konahamaru announced when he spotted her, getting up to take some of her packages.

"How was shopping?" Naruto asked, sounding genuinely interested even though he didn't divert his attention from the feline.

_It was so much fun, you have NO idea!_ She squealed mentally, taking a seat beside him. "It went well." She said and smiled. "I don't usually g-go sh-shopping…"

There was a pause, then….

"Hinata!" Naruto said, drawing out her name, saying it in a tone that resembled a whine. He looked up at her with a pained expression and inside her chest, Hinata's heart began hammering against her ribcage as her little bubble of happiness was popped by the sharp needles of anxiety and fear.

"You should have said!" Naruto continued. "I wouldn't have asked you to go if you hadn't wanted to!"

She blinked rapidly as she processed his words. Hinata sat frozen, staring at him until she understood what he was saying. "OH! No, that's not what I meant!" She hurried to explain. "I mean I don't have much experience! If you hadn't given me guidelines, I wouldn't have known what to look for!"

Hinata was nearly panting as she finished, desperate for him to understand.

He blinked, one eye brow arching suspiciously. "You sure you didn't have any trouble?"

"No!" She said forcefully.

His expression didn't change. "No one hassled you?"

"No!" She said again, shaking her head. "They were very kind! I even got a discount!" As soon as the last was out of her mouth, she wanted to smack herself for the idiocy of her statement.

The corner of Naruto's mouth quirked up. He nodded, then smiled full out at her, making her heart swell with warmth. "Good." He said. The blonde leaned toward her sideways, bumped his shoulder against hers once before straightening up again and returning his attention to the animal in his arms.

Hinata sat next to him, smiling like an idiot and not caring one iota.

* * *

"Where do you think you're going?" Naruto asked his entourage, puzzled as to why they were still with him."With you, of course!" Konahamaru said, instantly becoming the voice for the group. 

"Not happening." Naruto said flatly, looking at their surroundings. They were entering his neighborhood and it was not exactly the best part of town. It was certainly not a place for children to be walking around this close to dusk under normal circumstances- it was truly not a place for them to be walking around close to dusk in the company of the most hated person in the village. Naruto's protective presence could only deter harm so much, the way things were.

"But you can't carry all this stuff while you're holding the kitten." The boy pointed out reasonably. "You'll need our help getting it all inside."

"You are not going into my apartment." _Kid has a point though._

"You mentioned once that you lived on the top floor," Konahamaru casually reminded him. "Doesn't that mean you have to go up a lot of stairs?"

Naruto frowned, looking from him to the other two.

"It's gonna be awful hard to carry everything, all those stairs and all." The boy remarked, looking around in an innocent manner.

The blonde sighed and was silent for several seconds, during which the three kids leaned forward expectantly. "No."

"But we want to help with the kitten!"

"We found it!"

"Let us come up!"

The three began shouting loudly in protest, so much so that it was hard to tell who was saying what.

"Shut up!" Naruto commanded, smacking the Hokage's grandson on the head. "Alright! You can come up- quiet down already!" Naruto was shocked by the kids' excitement. _Oh, this is such a bad idea…_ "You cannot stay! You have to get home to your parents!"

The kids, needless to say, were over-joyed. Hinata was torn between the rush of excitement she felt at the prospect of seeing Naruto's house and a wave of anxiety over being alone with Naruto in said house, the kids not with-standing. She trusted Naruto but, by the rules of propriety, such a thing as two teenagers alone together unsupervised was frowned upon. That was one of the reasons why each team of genin had three members, all of which were supervised closely by an experienced jounnin.

Indecisive, Hinata wavered and nearly dropped the basket of eggs she carried as her hands fidgeted.

Naruto abruptly handed the sleeping kitten to her. She took it automatically, jacket and all, carefully cradling the bundle against her chest while Naruto put his hands together in the sign of his infamous shadow clone jutsu and suddenly there were four more of the blonde ninja than there had been in the street. At some unseen signal, they leapt upward, disappearing from view as they jumped from rooftop to rooftop in an easterly direction.

"You coming too?" Naruto asked, turning the full force of his blue eyed gaze on her, waiting patiently for her answer.

Hinata flushed, feeling her mouth work but hearing no sound. _I shouldn't, I really shouldn't…_ But just as she gained the ability to speak, reluctant but firm in her decision to politely refuse the invitation…

_I WANNA COME TOO!_ The thought, the raw desire to participate and see, nearly knocked her off her feet and instead of refusing, she burst forth with a resounding"Yes!"

Without further ado, the blonde took the basket of eggs from Hinata, allowing her to use both arms to cradle the kitten as they all resumed walking, the three grinning kids trailing behind. She stayed right beside the blonde while he led them to their destination. The Hyuga heiress was so excited that she didn't realize immediately that she was nearly smothering the kitten she held.

_Naruto's apartment!_ A part of her mind was screaming in a high excited squeal. _Oh my God! I get to see Naruto's apartment!_ Her heart was beating so fast she wondered if it was going to hammer its way through her chest.

"I swear," Naruto was grousing, pointing back at the trio following them. "We go up, put everything away, then you go home! You cannot stay! Your parents'll kill me!"

* * *

More's Moment:

Once again, thank you very much to everyone who read this chapter and, as always, constructive criticism (or simply a note that says you like the story) is always welcome. Apologies for the short chapter- next one will be longer, promise. Stick around; things are going to get interesting in a chapter or two. Happy tales everyone!


	4. Chapter 3: Sleepover

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Naruto, nor do I make any money from using their likenesses. I do this for purely entertainment purposes only.

**Chapter 3: Sleep Over**

_ So much for going home._ Sasuke thought lazily as he listened to Naruto putter around the kitchen cooking dinner for his guests. From his perch in Hinata's lap, the kitten watched the blonde through a serving window in the wall that separated living room from kitchen, absently wondering how the blonde had learned the culinary arts with no one around to teach him.

_ Trial and error, I suppose._ The kitten let out a grunt and a sigh as something in his back popped, presumably (and hopefully) back into its original position. He relaxed, letting his body be molded and prodded as Hinata's hands willed. She petted and massaged him, easing stress and pain as she did so, gradually changing him from feline to pudding.

Honestly, Sasuke just wanted to melt into the towel he was sprawled tummy down on. He knew that his placid state was, in part if not totality, due to whatever medicine the death happy vet had given him. That, combined with whatever Naruto had added to the milk he'd forced the kitten to drink, had the kitten feeling pretty good.

Dimly, the young Uchiha knew that he should be putting up a fuss about his treatment; he was not a cat, despite his current appearance, and did not want to spend the rest of his days as a pet. He knew that he should be seriously bothered by his predicament, that having Naruto in charge of his care should be scaring the Hell out of him. He should be screaming his head off, demanding to go to the Hokage and be changed back to his normal form, not letting Hinata's hands roam over his body.

However all that seemed to be too much trouble; being safe, warm, and heavily medicated were inducing a sense of calm the Uchiha hadn't felt since he'd been young.

Before his parents had been murdered.

Sasuke's sense of peace began to evaporate, the rage and depression the thought sparked momentarily chasing away the effects of the pain killers. But then Hinata took hold of his right rear leg and began rotating the appendage slowly as much as Sasuke's hip joint would allow. Pressure built and built inside the kitten until it was just this side of pain, then, just as he was about to protest his treatment, the Hyuga heiress did something that made all the pain and pressure disappear, the relief from pain helping to restore his content state of mind.

He knew he should be bothered by all this also but, still, he just couldn't seem to manage it.

_ But I'm on to you,_ Sasuke thought a bit drunkenly as Hinata gently turned him onto his back, mindful of his worst injury, a badly mauled shoulder. _I know your game- you can't fool me! And you,_ He looked up at her slyly, seeing past her look of concentration and instead noticing her pink tinged cheeks. _I'm onto you too! _

They would make an odd couple, to be sure, but would be cute as could be if it worked.

Too bad that subtlety was wasted on Naruto and subtlety seemed all Hinata could muster. But that was okay since the more Hinata relaxed and laughed, the more confident she grew around the blonde. Sasuke smiled up at her- or at least tried to even though, since he was a cat, it looked like a baring of teeth to Hinata- and knew that it was only a matter of time before her confidence fuelled the Hyuga heiress's courage enough to confess her feelings to Naruto.

"Dinner!" Naruto called, balancing the plates on his hands and forearms. He set the plates on the serving window platform with care, then shooed the kids into the bathroom to wash their hands. Sasuke could hear them chattering, Naruto's voice seeming a tad louder than normal in the small apartment.

_ I didn't know he lived alone._ It had never occurred to Sasuke to wonder about the living arrangements of his teammate. He knew that Naruto was an orphan but he hadn't made the leap that Naruto lived by himself. He didn't understand why he hadn't made a connection just that- stupidly- he hadn't.

This new piece of information did shed light on some of the blonde's habits and personality quirks, though.

Naruto's apartment was a small one bedroom. The living room served as a multi purpose room and showed evidence of the various activities it played host to. There was a neat pyramid of scrolls in one corner, set next to a small bookshelf that had been crammed to bursting with various paper materials and media. Closest to the large dinning table was a refrigerator that had to be as tall, if not taller, than Naruto. There were a few small shelves positioned above comfortable height around the room that could be easily accessed via the single large wooden chair Hinata was currently occupying. Sasuke could not comment on the bedroom, bathroom or the kitchen since he had not been taken through to those areas, but he wondered vaguely if they would match the general shabbiness of the living room area. It was clean, Sasuke could tell, but nearly everything he saw had the overall feeling of being hand-me-downs. The kitten stared at a patch in the table cloth covering the table and wondered if Naruto had done it himself or if someone had shown him how to do the intricate stitching.

"'Number one Ninja,'" Hinata said quietly, her hands smoothing Sasuke's fur back into place. "'Do your best!'"

The kitten looked around, trying to follow her gaze. She was reading the captions of the handwritten posters on the walls. The young Uchiha thought it odd to put such phrases up as decoration but since it was Naruto who had done it, Sasuke doubted he'd understand the answer even if he got one. Another thing that was a bit out of place were all of the blonde's plants- they were on the high shelves in the living room, one on top of the fridge, a few in the kitchen and a rather large one sitting on the floor near the table.

_ I never figured Naruto for a plant person._ He thought. Actually, Sasuke had doubted that his teammate possessed enough intelligence and sense of responsibility to care for a dead rat, but the plants were proving to be a testament to Naruto's abilities; they were all lush and green and healthy as far as Sasuke could tell.

Naruto and company came back, the kids thundering down the little hall like a herd of elephants with the blonde bringing up the rear. Surprisingly, Naruto was not bounding along with them and, as the blonde took the kitten from Hinata, even looked a bit tired as he gave the girl directions to the restroom. Once again, Sasuke was lain against Naruto's chest and held in place one-handed.

Then the blonde crawled under the table.

At first, Sasuke thought his teammate was out to pull a prank on the unsuspecting Hyuga girl, but, as Naruto began to fuss with the bottom of the table, the kitten realized something else was going on. When the blonde actually began balancing the underside of the table on his shoulders, however, keeping the piece of furniture steady with his free hand, all rational theories disappeared and the Uchiha was thoroughly lost.

The blonde sucked in a breath and Sasuke could hear movement in the room. "Ready?" Naruto called, waiting until he heard a chorus of agreement. "GO!"

In one sudden movement, he lifted, forcing the table into the air above the floor. At his signal, the three kids each attacked a different table leg, forcing the appendages to turn. The wood squeaked painfully in protest then gradually gave in, the legs unscrewing completely. The kids did it with gusto and excitement, giggling madly as they worked. Soon there was only on leg left and when that one was unscrewed and safely stacked with the others on the opposite side of the room, Naruto began another balancing act as he worked awkwardly to set the now quadriplegic table on the floor.

Sasuke, alarm chasing away his contentment, started having serious doubts about this. The blonde had never demonstrated any kind of successful balancing ability and this juggling act, as it was rapidly degenerating into, made the Uchiha fear for his life. The kitten sank his claws into Naruto's clothing to let himself feel a bit more secure as the table thumped the blonde in the head and began listing dangerously to the left. Before the table could hit the floor, or the blonde again for that matter, someone grabbed it, leveling the board. Now that someone had the other end secured, Naruto grabbed the unsupported side with his free hand, ducked down below the wood again and twisted out from under it. It left him in another awkward position but that didn't seem to bother him as he and his helper lowered the wooden board to the floor cooperatively, Naruto not even getting his hand caught.

"Thanks Hinata!" Naruto grinned at her as he straightened, free hand rubbing his shoulders. He then turned his attention on the other occupants of the room. "Where'd you guys go?"

"We didn't want to get hit." Konahamaru explained. "Besides, you being a full fledged ninja and all, we didn't think you'd need our help." His innocent act was ruined only by the smirk that he was ineffectually suppressing.

Sasuke watched Naruto's hand twitch and convulse as if it had the urgent desire to strangle something. Or someone. Instead the blonde handed the kitten back to Hinata, picked up the lost table clothe and, with a flourish, spread the covering over the newly resettled 'table.' Naruto then fetched sitting cushions from his room, thrust them at the kids to place, and retrieved everyone's bowls from his kitchen, arranging the dishes on the table.

"Have a seat," The blonde said brightly as he disappeared again to get utensils. He returned, handed them out, and took Sasuke from Hinata once again. "What's wrong?"

The kitten could tell that Hinata felt at a loss. She, like the children, had selected her sitting place obediently and, like the children, was probably wondering how to go about asking what the contents of her dinner bowl were without seeming rude. Sasuke smirked, familiar with his teammates cooking. Though he got low points for aesthetic presentation, the blonde did know how to cook nutritional food that tasted good. Sadly, for the uninitiated, gathering up the courage for that first bite was could be quite troublesome. As much as she adored the blonde, Sasuke bet that Hinata's instinct for self preservation was proving stronger than her crush.

To her credit, Hinata did give it a try- sort of. Armed with her chopsticks, she gave the liquid an experimental poke and nearly jumped when the thin staves of wood connected with something hidden in the murky depths. The object shifted and an air bubble burst from the ooze with a sound akin to what one might hear from a puddle of sludge under similar circumstances.

Hinata.

Stared.

* * *

Hunger won out in the end. Sasuke knew that it would eventually, and as he nursed from his bottle (_This is so demeaning! Naruto's a dead man!_ He vowed. he saw Hinata square her shoulders, pick up her bowl, and fish out…something. With evident reservations, she put the morsel in her mouth and chewed with her eyes screwed tightly shut. The kitten watched her, waiting.

The children stared at her, quite obviously certain that the young lady was going to drop dead any second. But she didn't die; instead she smiled reassuringly at them and began to polish off her dinner, evidently happy.

Sasuke watched the kids begin theirs and remembered back to his own first encounter with the rather unappetizing meal. They had been out on a mission, divvying up the chores before bedding down for the night. Naruto had drawn cooking duty and had made the same stew-like creation for them all. He'd done it happily and with enthusiasm, clearly eager for the opportunity to show off his skills. Then, like now, no one had wanted to try it except the blonde. He had dug in immediately, baffled when they failed to follow suit.

"What the Hell is this?" Sakura had demanded, pointing at her dinner. "We can't eat this! It's disgusting! We'll probably all die!"

Naruto had blinked, his confusion evident as he finished his mouthful. "But it's good! Try some."

"I'm not eating this!" The kunoichi had screeched angrily. "Cook something normal! Sasuke, don't touch- SASUKE!"

The Uchiha heir, driven by cold and hunger, egged on by the long day, had begun eating the mystery slope. Sasuke remembered devoting all his attention to the stew and its consumption, tuning Sakura's shouting out. Maybe it wasn't the best looking but it was food that tasted okay and, at the time, that was all that had mattered to him. Eventually Kakashi and Sakura had both given in and eaten it too.

No one had complimented the blonde on his cooking ability and no one had apologized for having misgivings and doubts about him. Later that week, Naruto had gotten cooking duty again and Sasuke remembered having the feeling that he and the other two had missed an important opportunity somewhere- that they had screwed up in a big way- but he couldn't figure out what it was or how to fix it

Since their first introduction to his cooking, Naruto had never showed the same level of enthusiasm for the chore again.

"Boss!" Konahamaru yelled. "This is great! Can you teach you how to make this- I'll make some as an offering for the family altar. Grandpa'll love it."

Hinata finished her current mouthful, snorting a bit in embarrassment when she slurped. "Who was your Grandfather, Konahamaru?"

"Huh? Oh, the third Hokage." The young man replied absently, his attention on eating once again.

Sasuke began to choke on the bottle's nipple. Using his right paw he shoved the offending object away and coughed. Naruto switched his grip on the kitten, rotating the feline until he lay belly down on the blonde's forearm at a downward angle. He patted Sasuke's back between the fur ball's shoulder blades carefully until the kitten got its breathing under control again. Once that had been accomplished, Naruto began thumping Hinata on the back with the meat of his hand, helping her to conquer her own sudden bout of choking.

"What?" The blonde asked in surprise with a final pat to the Hyuuga heiress' back, he righted his charge and smoothed the kitten's ruffled fur. "You mean you didn't know?"

The evening progressed into true night outside as the occupants of the small apartment talked of shared hobbies and school work. Deep in conversation, none of them noticed the gathering dark as they laughed and shared their past experiences. Naruto and Hinata, being seniors of the gathered ninjas, gave the younger genin tips and advice about the more complicated jutsus the youngsters were trying to master. Hinata was more helpful in this area since she was better at the complex hand signs that triggered the jutsu but Naruto had his own shinning moment of mentoring when he offered exercises to improve control over chakra usage.

From school work, the discussion digressed to stories and fables that Hinata and Naruto had heard about as children but that Konahamaru and the others had missed out on. Initially starting as an exercise in opinion sharing and lesson learning, things quickly turned into amateur theater with Naruto and Hinata as the stars. Sasuke, held by Konahamaru, watched the two transform Naruto's apartment into a stage, making complete idiots of themselves for the entertainment of the trio and himself and wanted to smile. Once Hinata got into it and began acting out her roles in the various tales in an overly dramatic fashion, things went from funny to wacky since Naruto was normally over the top by nature and the only available props were the blonde's possessions. Things got so bad that, at one point, neither of them could get through their lines with a straight face, breaking down into fits of giggling that only helped to feed the laughter of the trio watching.

"And from that day forth," Naruto exclaimed proudly, still trying to keep a straight face as he continued his narration. He was down on one knee, fists pressed to the floor with his forehead cast downward in an expression of obedience. Hinata was standing in front of him, looking very much her part of princess with her hands folded neatly in front of her as she accepted her new protector's offer of allegiance. "The princess had a body guard to protect her from all harm, who would honor her with loyalty and devotion for the rest of his days. The ninja pledged this all to her and she became his princess."

The blonde jumped to his feet and bowed, Hinata doing the same beside him. The kids cheered, whistling and whooping loudly in appreciation of the impromptu production. They clapped enthusiastically and Sasuke watched the couple preen under the praise, even though they both were ducking their heads and blushing.

Naruto glanced out a nearby window and frowned, removing his 'sword' -a long handled wooden spoon- from his belt.

"It's really late." He said abruptly to his guests. "Looks like you guys are spending the night after all." The blonde scratched his chin, eyebrows knitting together as he thought. He ignored Hinata's inarticulate squawk and the high-fives the kids gave one another, disappearing down the hall into his bedroom.

"N-no, Naruto," Hinata protested, following him. "Really, that's not necessary! I can walk home-"

"This neighborhood isn't the safest in daylight hours." Naruto said, not looking up from his chore. He was stripping his bed down, removing the dirty sheets and replacing them with fresh ones. "This time of night, it's dangerous for even chunnin."

Well, there wasn't much the Hyuga girl could say to that; she trusted him and if Naruto said it was dangerous, Hinata would give him the benefit of the doubt. The girls got Naruto's room, sharing the bed between them, while the boys took over the blonde's living room. He had spare blankets and with them fashioned a bed for the two boys to sleep on, who would have been grateful except that they were already asleep. Being a good host, Naruto rummaged through his wardrobe for pajamas that would fit the girls as well as a set of extra clothes for himself for tomorrow so he wouldn't have to intrude on them. When everyone was settled down for the night, Naruto wished them all pleasant dreams, took the kitten, turned on the bathroom light, and retired to the kitchen.

* * *

Elbow on the newly reconstructed table, temple propped against his fist, Naruto cradled the kitten against his chest in his free hand. He was facing the window, blue eyes diligently watching the nightlife activity outside. It wasn't like he expected anything would happen this early in the holiday, but he couldn't be one hundred percent sure and the blonde couldn't take any chances with his small home now filled with some of his precious people.

_ I am never going to drink._ The blonde thought dismally as sleep tried to suck him under again. This holiday brought out the worst in people, as far as he was concerned. The animosity and contempt that he dealt with under normal circumstances intensified nearly ten fold during the festival. Naruto couldn't blame them, really, since technically he was the vessel for the nine tailed fox and taking their anger out on him was the closest they would ever get to actually hurting the real thing. He couldn't forgive their ignorance though, assuming that he was the human form of the beast when in reality he was anything but.

Altogether, for the adults in the village, the entire festival was an excuse to be extremely mean to Naruto and use him as a whipping boy of sorts. As the week wore on, Naruto's apartment would not be a safe haven since ambitious individuals, emboldened by copious amounts of alcohol, would try to break in and, as they put it, "Right the wrong made fifteen years ago."

He straightened, freeing his arm in order to take another bite of his dinner, a dry tasteless granola bar. A few days ago, he had made a whole batch of the calorie and protein packed things for his meals since normal food would soon no longer stay down. He finished the remainder of the bar, leaning awkwardly forward to avoid getting crumbs all over the sleeping feline. Chewing, Naruto dusted his hand off on his pants and held the hand out in front of him, palm flat with fingers splayed, frowning at the mild trembling he saw.

He pressed the back of his palm against his forehead before making a fist again, resettling his elbow on the table once more. The closer it came to his birthday, the more incapacitated he'd become. The fever he had already suspected was there had been confirmed by Hinata's observations earlier. It, like the tremors and other symptoms, was going to get worse and worse until Naruto wouldn't be able to move.

But that's what friends were for- too bad he hadn't received any word about if they were coming or not though he held onto the hope that they were on their way. _It's so late…_The worried thought popped up before he could stop it and he suppressed it ruthlessly in retaliation. He wasn't referring to the actual time of night but to the narrow timetable he was chained too- if help was actually on the way, they needed to be here very soon.

He was going to have to hide, he realized, somewhere in the forest where even the most die-hard fox hater wouldn't be able to find him.

_ Out of sight, out of mind._ He remembered and smiled, though not happily. The only draw back to this plan was the question of where. Where would he be able to hide? Normal foxes had dens to hide in if a predator came after them, tunnels that twisted and turned in an intricate maze to confuse pursuers. There wasn't anywhere big enough under ground that he would fit, though. _But if I can't go down, then there's always up._

And, for Naruto, going up always held more appeal than going down in any and all things. He resumed his vigil, occasionally stroking the kitten as he tuned his senses outward to look for danger. He had people he was responsible for and he would let no harm come to them while they were in his care.

**_ Especially Hyuuga._** The fox added from the depths of its cage.

_ Shut up._ Naruto returned to his task, firmly ignoring the beast and the small pang of pain in his heart.

* * *

More's Moment:

If any of you have read the manga, you know the general set up of at least Naruto's kitchen and that he has those little sayings posted here and there. I wanted to keep that in there since it speaks volumes, both about his upbeat personality and also because it's something a parent would say to cheer their child on. I've often wondered what someone visiting his apartment would think about those little posters; would they think those phrases were just decoration or would they realize just how little human interaction there is in his life?

As always, thank you everyone for reading! Reviews are well and truly appreciated so please leave one before you go. Sorry for the short chapter but I promise that the next one will be longer- I had to stop at this point otherwise the chapter would have taken forever to read. Anyways, hope you all enjoyed it.

Have a wonderful day and happy tales!


	5. Chapter 4: By Dawn's Early Light

**Chapter Four: By Dawn's Early Light**

Sasuke decided that Naruto had fallen asleep, if the deep even breathes and fast heartbeat were any indication. They were comforting sounds, soothing sounds, and lulled the kitten almost back to sleep. Instead he yawned and stuck his head out of his new home, a home-made pouch lined with something soft that hung from Naruto's neck. Considering that his caregiver was slumped to one side with his head on the table next to one hand and the other hand lost to sight as it hung limply at his side, the young Uchiha considered his new home a wonderful- and surprising- bit of forethought on Naruto's part. From the looks of it, the blonde had been up for most of the night, nodding off when exhaustion finally succeeding in sucking him under.

The sun would be up soon Sasuke noted with a yawn, the grey light of dawn chasing back the night. Morning fog hid most of the city from view, creating the illusion that Naruto's mundane apartment floated above the clouds like some fantasy castle in old stories. The image was pretty, the kitten admitted, and part of him wondered if –assuming he got up in time- he'd be able to see a similar view from his own home. On the heels of that thought was an odd curiosity, and Sasuke sadly wondered if anyone had noticed he was missing yet. Surely someone had noticed and told the Hokage.

Right?

_It's only been a day._ He reminded himself sternly, mentally shoving away his moment of self pity. _It'll take a while for your disappearance to register with everything going on. Wait, why the hell do I care?_

Still though, it was a bit depressing to think he could be so inconsequential. The kitten sighed unhappily, idly wondering if he would be able to make the leap from his perch to the table. He needed to stretch in the worst way; his leg muscles were beginning to twitch as they cramped and it would only get worse the longer he stayed immobile.

"You're looking better." Hinata's voice, though a whisper, startled him, making him withdraw back into his pouch like some furry turtle. His heart pounding in his throat, Sasuke poked his head out again cautiously and wondered how the hell she was always able to approach without someone noticing.

She smiled up at him as she knelt on the floor, lowering the large metal box she carried to the wooden boards. It settled with a quiet thud, which seemed loud in the predawn period but then again, the act of breathing seemed loud too. Hinata set the box as she wanted, lifted the lid soundlessly, and began sorting through its contents.

It was a medicine chest, Sasuke realized, surprised at how well stocked and organized the paraphernalia was. Hinata seemed to be impressed as well, making little appreciative sounds as she read the labels on some of the bottles. She fished out gauze and antiseptic, silently setting the items down on the floor for usage. Curious, Sasuke leaned further and further out of his pouch as he watched her, letting out a startled hiss when his weight made the pouch he sat in tip forward alarmingly. The strap of the pouch snapped, sending it to the floor for parts unknown. Sasuke was dumped out and the kitten fell several inches before pale hands stopped his decent.

The Hyuuga heir shushed him as she caught him, setting Sasuke on the floor gently and petting him, paying special attention to his head and ears before pulling her hands away. Puzzled, the young Uchiha sat beside Hinata, awkwardly stretching out his back legs as he watched the girl.

Biting her bottom lip, her eyes narrowed in concentration, Hinata gave Naruto's limp hand an experimental stroke with a shaking finger. She glanced nervously up at his face, relaxing when he continued to sleep peacefully, right cheek against the table. Shooting Sasuke a conspiratory look, Hinata inhaled deeply and took Naruto's hand between hers, running her fingers gently over the blonde's palm. The corners of her mouth turned down, but Sasuke didn't think she was unhappy exactly, more like she was worried about something.

Sasuke watched her prepare several pads of gauze, the antiseptic smeared on the material sharp in the kitten's nose. Hinata began dabbing at Naruto's hand, pausing guiltily every now and then when his fingers twitched in response. Taking a firmer grip on his wrist, her thumb resting lightly on the pulse point, the Hyuga heir continued to treat whatever ailment she had found on the blonde's hand. Eventually Hinata, satisfied with ministrations, finished by liberally spreading salve over Naruto's hand and wrapping it in bandages.

The kitten took a few experimental steps around Hinata, actually managing to make it all the way to Naruto's medicine chest positioned several feet away from him. The short trip was surprisingly tiring, and Sasuke let himself slide down to lay on the floor beside the box, propping his head on a corner of the cool object. He was thirsty, he realized, and wondered how he could get Hinata to get him some water, or even that milk concoction Naruto had been feeding him thus far.

Thankfully, he didn't need to think very hard; Hinata seemed to have a sixth sense about the needs of others. Sasuke was scooped up and set on the table near Naruto's hand, left to wait while she disappeared into the kitchen. For several minutes, the kitten heard only the sounds of cabinets being opened and closed. Then the wonderful sound of water running from a tap could be heard, cut off just before Hinata reappeared carrying a shallow bowl between her hands. She set it on the table near him, muffling a laugh as Sasuke very nearly shoved his head under the liquid's surface in his eagerness to slack his thirst.

While drinking, the Uchiha heir was at an ideal vantage point to watch Hinata explore Naruto's fingers and knuckles, finally able to see what injury she was dressing- he didn't smell blood and if the blonde was indeed injured, Sasuke figured that, of any of them, he with his new sharp senses would be the first to know. He peered close then dismissed the cracked skin of Naruto's hands as a minor injury and walked away to shake the water off his fur; if his blonde idiot teammate couldn't remember to ice his swollen knuckles after training then that was Naruto's problem.

Though, the swelling was odd since Naruto always seemed to heal so fast no matter how many times Sasuke pounded him.

The kitten licked his lips clean of water and sat, sniffing the air. He caught the scent of something and began tracking it, crawling across the table slowly. Hinata had brought more supplies with her, but he tried hard to ignored the antiseptic smell pervading the air, instead concentrating on the scent he wanted.

His legs aching slightly, Sasuke lay on his belly and crawled forward toward the source of the odor. His lips were pulled back, his mouth half open with his tongue curled back against his tiny front teeth, inhaling the air deeply and analyzing it. He continued forward until he was nose to nose with his sleeping teammate. Sasuke frowned; surely he had to have made a mistake because Naruto couldn't possibly be the source of the scent- the young Uchiha would have noticed it long ago even with his normal sense of smell.

The kitten sat on his haunches, frowning, with his head tilted to the side in confusion. He shut his eyes, closed his mouth and stuck his nose in the air. For several minutes he simply breathed and listened to the almost inaudible sounds Hinata made as she finished wrapping the blonde's other hand.

He could smell her, Sasuke realized for the first time, Hinata's scent seeming to breathe calm and gentleness into the room. He could also smell hints of baking in the air as restaurants all over the city began preparing for the day, mixed in with remnants of the meal Naruto had cooked the night before. Scents of earth and grass from the blonde's plants peppered the patina his new enhanced senses painted of his surroundings, his ears flicking and tracking the noises of his comrades.

_Okay,_ Sasuke thought, focusing his ears and nose on the blonde sleeping inches away. He concentrated and slowly the other distractions fell away, receding into the background.

_Now, let's find out what's going on._ Sasuke inhaled deeply, bringing his nose down close to Naruto's skin and analyzing his findings.

Underneath the slightly acrid scent of sweat and irritating smell of antiseptic, Naruto's scent was a difficult combination to describe. It confused the young Uchiha, and annoyed him beyond reason mainly because it kept conjuring conflicting images in the kitten's mind. Sasuke frowned, realizing that there was a new issue he had to address.

It seemed that felines associated scents with concepts, not only physical objects or tastes. For example, take an orange in the middle of a table. On one side of the table is a human. Now, let's say someone comes along and cuts open the orange, sending the scent into the air. For the human, the smell of that orange may be a reminder of summer or perhaps cleaning fluid, depending on the person. That human may also admire attributes of the orange; its color, size, or texture. For the sake of relevance, let's replace the human with a cat in this scenario. In the cat's mind, a new third connection is made, one linking to a more amorphous concept. This wasn't exactly a problem for Sasuke; just an unexpected and strange hurdle he was forced to jump over before being able to reach any conclusions.

Naruto's normal scent, in Sasuke's mind, had become connected with concepts like safety and comfort. The blonde was warm, the heat sensed easily via Sasuke's whiskers, and that too in its own way had a scent, one that was mixed in with comfort and oddly danger. The last made him blink in pause until he figured it out- too much warmth and one could pass out from heat stroke and, in some cases, die.

Sasuke sniffed delicately, the cold moist skin of his nose one sharp inhale above the blonde's skin. But underneath the smells of sweat, antiseptic, and concepts, there was something else, something… other. Neither side of Sasuke could figure out what it was exactly but his human side expressed distinct unease over it. The indefinable scent was there under the others, a part of the collage yet standing out enough to catch the attention of his sensitive nose. There was a bitter quality to it but that was all Sasuke could pin down.

Frustrated, Sasuke sat back and put a paw to his head as a headache formed in his temple.

From behind him, there was a soft 'Oh!' of surprise from Hinata followed by an odd drumming noise that made the young Uchiha whip his head in that direction to find out what was going on.

Naruto's hand was twitching. That wouldn't have been noteworthy in and of itself except that it was twitching _violently_, newly wrapped fingers convulsing painfully against the unforgiving wood of the kitchen table until Hinata took his hand between her own to protect it from further injury. Sasuke bounded over, nearly skidding over the table edge in his haste to investigate as Hinata, face set in determined lines, hung on to Naruto's hand even after the episode had finished.

…_The hell?_ The young Uchiha wondered, putting a cautious paw on top of Hinata's hands. He sniffed Naruto's wrist, surprised when he realized that the odd bitter scent was gone but the warmth radiated by the blonde had increased. A worried meow escaped from him, surprising the Uchiha and Hyuga both.

"He's sick." Hinata explained in a whisper, putting a light hand on the blonde's forehead. Sasuke watched as she held her breath, her eyes wide, as Naruto stirred enough to shift his position, folding both arms on the table and resting his head on his forearms. To the kitten's surprise and annoyance he found himself mimicking Hinata's tense actions, watching her hand as it hovered over the blonde's head while the latter changed position.

A clock that the kitten couldn't see ticked off several minutes in the silence of the room. Hinata, biting her lower lip, her cheeks bright red, placed her hand hesitantly back atop Naruto's blonde head again. She remained tense, ready to move if he showed signs of waking though Sasuke wondered how she intended to deny touching him, what with Naruto's hands wrapped so neatly in gauze and so obviously by someone else. Her hand relaxed, inch by inch, and she experimentally teased her fingers in his hair, blush flaring when Naruto unexpectedly made an appreciative noise.

Sasuke watched the girl worry her lower lip as she hesitantly petted Naruto, her pale fingers seeming even paler as they threaded through the blonde locks. The kitten's teammate continued to sleep, letting out a soft sigh as Hinata's hand moved. With the birds beginning to chirp outside and dawn's light filtering through the drawn shades, it was a like some scene out of a heartwarming novel and, bizarrely, Sasuke felt a rare moment of peace with the world, a feeling compounded when Hinata's free hand began petting his head as well.

But, like most good things, the moment didn't last as a scream tore through the apartment, shattering the homey moment and making Sasuke's fur stand on end in alarm. Hissing, he reared away from Hinata, immediately looking for the source of the scream and for the threat causing it. The Hyuuga heiress was already moving, drawing a kunai knife from Naruto's barrowed pajamas. She made it several steps toward Naruto's bedroom before Moegi, the female of Konahamaru's little gang of misfits, came barreling down the hall and ran full into her.

An instant later, with a sound like a whip cracking, what appeared to be electricity ran over the walls of the apartment. It ran over the kitchen's windows and the front door, making all the portals flash blindingly before disappearing into the walls again, presumably to give the same treatment to Naruto's bedroom. There was a brief moment of stunned silence in which both the girls and the kitten stared at each other before the ceiling rippled with the same energy previously displayed.

The two thumps that followed sounded loud in the small room, making everyone jump as Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame literally dropped into the apartment. Both were tied up- with an astonishing amount of rope- and gagged, each guarded by an irritated looking Naruto clone.

"Never figured you two for perverts." The one beside Kiba remarked in disgust, ignoring Kiba's muffled protests and murderous glare.

"Peeping in on little girls!" The other said in the same tone. "For shame!"

Sasuke swore he felt his jaw drop to the table, too shocked to even back away from the awful odor coming from the captive pair. The smell of burnt hair and wet dog quickly pervaded the apartment, making Hinata and Moegi gag and rush to cover their noses, the younger of the pair not bothering to be discrete like the Hyuuga heir, instead making a big show of holding her throat as if choking. The kitten followed suit, turning and nearly tripping over his blonde teammate who had not moved during the commotion.

The young Uchiha stared at Naruto who continued to sleep peacefully. Sasuke had always suspected that the blonde could sleep through anything and now here was the proof. It should have been funny but the kitten felt no desire to laugh as worry crept through him, weighing heavy on his heart as he stalked closer to the blonde's nose and pawed at it gently.

"Kiba! Shino!" Hinata was saying, clearly surprised to meet her teammates in such a fashion. "What are you doing here?!"

"Why were you peeping?" Moegi asked, yelling, her cheeks flushed in outrage.

Sasuke pawed with more force at Naruto's nose.

"What's going on?" Konahamaru sat up, rubbing his eyes to wake up. Beside him, Udon emerged from the pile of blankets that had served as their bed and yawned.

"Whoa! Thieves!" Udon said, getting up and coming over to get a better look at Kiba and Shino. Naruto's clones kept the child from getting too close.

"They're Peeping Toms!" Moegi screeched. She stalked over, kunai knife in hand and looking angry as hell.

"No!" Hinata said, rushing between her friends and the girl. "They're my teammates! I'm sure they meant no harm!" She turned toward the two tied up teens and began pulling at a corner of the tape sealing Shino's mouth.

"I bet they have a valid reason for being here..." She continued, now peeling the tape away from Kiba's lips with care. She was kneeling close to the table and so Sasuke raced over and snagged her pajama collar with his teeth, pulling it sharply to get her attention.

Though her hand was gentle in pushing him away, her words stung. "I don't have time to play right now." Hinata said, reaching up and giving Sasuke a light shove across the table before turning back to untie her teammates.

-That's not fair!- Sasuke tried again, swatting at her head with his paw. -Forget those idiots and help me!-

The Naruto doubles, in unison, looked toward the door of the now crowded apartment and stilled before maneuvering themselves opposite the portal. They tried to be casual about it but Sasuke noticed the tenseness throughout their forms. He gave up on Hinata and raced back over to Naruto, rearing up on his hind legs then bringing his front paws down on the blonde's shoulder.

-Wake up!- The Uchiha growled, his ears tracking the movements of the clones. -Of all the times to sleep, you pick NOW?! Moron!-

"Uzumaki, you bastard!" Kiba shouted, kicking the table roughly and jostling both the blonde and the kitten. Sasuke's forgotten water dish sloshed, creating a puddle as it moved. "What kind of jutsu was _that_? You nearly killed us!"

"You shouldn't have been peeping!" Moegi roared, jumping to her hero's defense.

"Maybe you were here to peep on Naruto?" Konahamaru offered, an evil smile on his face. "Is that it? Did you want to catch him asleep and confess your feelings?"

Kiba sputtered, incoherent in his rage, and beside him Hinata turned a never before seen shade of red. A grinning Moegi helped matters by making kissing motions, hands clasped romantically beside her cheek while Konahamaru and Udon added their two cents by taking each other's hands and gazing into one another's eyes. They began passionately confessing their undying love for each other, further enraging Kiba.

_We're not getting anywhere. _Sasuke thought in disgust, turning his attention back to his teammate. About to resume pouncing, the kitten halted when he realized that the blonde was actually awake, blue eyes at half mast. Relief coursed through the feline and, before he could stop himself, Sasuke began rubbing his head against Naruto's face, nearly grinding his cheek into the other boy's. Letting out a soft snort and smiling, the blonde freed one wrapped hand and stroked it down Sasuke's back before yawning, and sitting back in his chair. He brought the kitten with him and cuddled it between his hands, making Sasuke stretch and hook his front paws in his teammate's shirt, firmly pushing his head against Naruto's chin.

"Hello." The blonde whispered, lips moving against the kitten's fur. He laid a light kiss on the top of Sasuke's head and exhaled heavily, making the scandalized kitten's fur ruffle.

-I was worried!- Sasuke raged at him, shaking his head irritably at his own behavior_. -_Idiot!_-_ He belatedly realized that he was making a noise, a _chuffing_ sound, as he rubbed harder against his teammate, ludicrously happy that Naruto was awake and seemed normal. He tried to tame the feeling, tried to regain his usual calm demeanor, and failed miserably.

_Gods what the Hell am I doing!?_ Sasuke wondered, the thought making him freeze uncertainly.

"I'm okay." Naruto said quietly, flashing a quick smile that didn't reach his eyes. He set the kitten in his lap, unhooking Sasuke's tiny claws gently while silently raising an eyebrow at his bandaged hands. He sighed and straightened, frowning as he surveyed his suddenly crowded apartment full of bickering people. Wanting a better vantage point, Sasuke propped his front paws on the edge of the table and watched the blonde watch his uninvited guests.

Kiba was arguing with the three members of Naruto's fan club. They were getting so loud and so agitated that none of them were listening to Hinata who was trying to act as peacemaker. Shino was the only quiet one but the kitten couldn't be sure if it was because of his silent nature or if he was unconscious. Sasuke thought that Naruto's first priority would be to leap in and help Hinata but instead the blonde turned to his two clones that still were focused on the door.

Naruto stood, drawing everyone's attention for a moment before the sound of something heavy hitting the door startled them all silent. The blonde set the kitten on the table and wandered over to the door, ignoring Kiba's shouting and threats.

* * *

Neji could not make the batty old lady leave him alone. It was true that without her help the young Hyuga would still be trying to find a way inside the building, preferably something aside from breaking and entering, but this was getting a bit bothersome. She had allowed him entrance, much to Neji's relief, but then she had followed him all the way up to Naruto's apartment. The entire time the woman had been raving about the fox demon, and kidnapping, and confessing her relief that someone had come to the rescue. 

The Hyuuga male had no idea what the woman was talking about and, frankly, didn't want to know, considering the heavy scent of alcohol surrounding the shorter lady.

"There it is!" She said, pointing at a door not far from the top floor stairway landing. "That's its lair!" She ducked behind Neji, using him as a shield.

Eyebrows very much under his forehead protector, Neji eyed the woman warily, putting space between his body and hers. If Naruto had to put up with this woman on a constant basis, no wonder the blonde could be such an oddball!

Neji began to seriously worry about what may have befallen Hinata during the night in the building and approached the door purposefully. He knocked, wincing at the sound as he belatedly realized that he had used far too much force to be polite. There was a shifting behind him just as the door opened, and sensing an imminent threat from behind, the pale boy whirled in time to see the inebriated woman raise a long carving knife, a mad look on her face.

He brought his arms up to defend himself, knowing that it wasn't going to be in time to dodge the blow completely but, before the blade could touch him, a hand fisted itself in the material of his shirt and Neji was unceremoniously hauled into Naruto's apartment. He fell backwards, off balance and disoriented, and crashed into another body, watching in confusion as two Narutos shut the wooden door and held it there while the insane woman screeched on the other side.

"Been drinking again." One Naruto growled, putting his shoulder against the wood.

"Going over there and dumping the bottles!" The other one exclaimed, putting his back against the door as the heavy pounding continued.

"Hi Neji." Came a muffled greeting from the body sprawled under the Hyuuga. Blinking, trying to reengage his brain, Neji pulled himself together and got to his feet. He looked around, eyebrows climbing at the surprised crowd staring back at him. He shook himself and extended a hand to the blonde on the floor.

"Big brother!" Hinata said, her surprise and bewilderment evident. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to find you." Neji said slowly, shaking himself and resettling his mental feathers. "I followed them." His gaze flicked to indicate Hinata's teammates. He frowned, taking in Hinata's and Moegi's state of dress. "Whose pajamas are those?"

"Mine." Naruto said, running a hand through his blonde hair, making it tumble into his eyes as he accepted Neji's offer of help and stood. At Neji's frown he added, "She and Moegi needed something to sleep in."

The Hyuga male's eyes narrowed considerably. "Where did they sleep?"

"In my bed." Naruto's irritated tone added an unspoken '_duh'_ to the statement.

Neji's eye twitched but he wasn't the one who lost his composure.

* * *

"Kiba no!" But Hinata's command was already too late in warning. Face nearly purple, the dog lover leapt over the table and onto the blonde's back, fists flying. The blonde was caught off guard but he managed to turn under the other boy so that Naruto took the brunt of the impact on his back, ignoring the pain as the back of his head bounced off the hard floor while Kiba's fists pummeled his face. 

"Hey!" Konahamaru and Udon jumped on Kiba, trying to help the blonde but inadvertently hindering Naruto's efforts to fight back. The pair pulled at the bigger brunette, pushing when that failed, all the while trying to avoid stepping on their friend. With them in the way, Naruto couldn't land a decent punch.

Abruptly, a grey and black furball entered the fray. Fluffed up to twice his size, the kitten raced across the floor and leapt square onto Kiba's face, back claws digging into the boy's flesh and teeth biting. Naruto seized the opportunity and took a firm hold on Konahamaru and Udon, flinging them to either side and out of the way. He couldn't punch Kiba in the nose but he could incapacitate him in another way- while Kiba yelled and tried to pull the kitten off, Naruto clapped his hands over the dog lover's ears as hard as he could, then sat up and hit Kiba in the chest with an open palm strike.

The brunette tumbled backwards into the table, impact shoving the piece of furniture away into the far wall. The kitten jumped off Kiba and ran back to Naruto, the blonde holding a hand to the back of his head as he sat huffing, blood dripping from his nose, his jaw already showing signs of swelling. He looked around, dazed, suppressing the slight feeling of hurt as he wondered where everyone else had gone and why no one else had tried to help him.

Neji and Shino were holding the apartment door shut, straight-arming the wood closed and putting as much distance between their torsos and it. The clones were no where in sight and light from the stair landing was filtering into the room via large slits in the wood that hadn't been there before. Hinata, armed with Naruto's First Aid kit, was seeing to Kiba and comforting the trio of kids. Of the two of them, Naruto was the worse for wear and the feeling of hurt resurfaced seeing that no one seemed to care.

There was a meow from his lap and a cold nose sniffed at his face delicately, one paw resting on Naruto's chest for leverage.

_Well,_ the blonde thought, running a hand down the kitten's back reassuringly. _At least this little guy does._ Picking the tabby up, Naruto got to his feet, listing dizzily to one side. He swallowed convulsively, trying to fight down the sudden urge to be sick, and worked his jaw experimentally.

"Get away from the door." He commanded roughly, pushing the kitten into Neji's hands. Shino complied and moved away, silently setting himself instead as a physical barrier behind Naruto. Frowning, looking like he wanted to toss the kitten to the floor, Neji put his back to the wall beside the doorway.

"What was she saying earlier?" Naruto asked the Hyuuga in a whisper, blue eyes watching more slits pepper his door as his mad landlady- because who else would it be?- drove her weapon into the wood over and over again.

"She thought I was here to rescue them." Neji replied, pale eyes also on the door and the blade that appeared and disappeared. "She's been drinking."

"If she's up here willingly, then she must be drunk." The blonde muttered, making Neji's eyebrows rise. Naruto ignored the look and cleared his throat, banging a fist high on the door frame, far above her short height.

"Landlady! Does your family know you've been drinking again?" Naruto called loudly. "Your daughter's gonna be mad!" There was an inarticulate reply from the other side. "You better replace the door after the festival, you know, since you're the one who damaged it. If you think this is coming out of my pocket, think again!"

_Come on._ Naruto mentally willed the woman to explode. She should be ready to do so; all he needed was the right trigger.

"The rescuer you sent failed!" Naruto called tauntingly, ignoring the glare Neji sent him. "You up to the task?"

"MURDERER!" The howl came clearly through the wood, nearly as cleanly as the blade that followed the remark did as the mad woman attacked again. A good six inches of steel thrust through the tortured door, stopping just shy of Naruto's nose, and, quick as a flash, the blonde struck the blade, open palmed, with enough force that it flattened the metal against the door at a right angle, effectively nullifying the threat from the weapon.

_She must have jumped to get it that high. _Swallowing to fight down nausea, Naruto jerked open the door, surprising the now disarmed woman. The blonde stepped forward, filling the doorway and forcing her to retreat several steps if she wanted to stay out of reach. She panted, wheezing in fear like some trapped animal.

"You…!" She spat hatefully, watching as Naruto folded his arms and leaned against the doorjamb casually.

"Your daughter's probably worried about you." Naruto said calmly and quietly.

"That poor boy!" She said.

Neji, complete with kitten, stepped into view, plainly unharmed.

"Those children!"

From behind Naruto, the three young gennin peeked their heads out, looking at her as if she was some sort of monster.

Before the woman could ask, Hinata appeared, Shino and Kiba right behind her.

"You better go back downstairs." Naruto said into the silence that followed. He inhaled, the action noisy as a slight whistling from his broken nose joined in for accompaniment. "I can smell baking. Fresh bread and cookies. Your family's going all out!"

Confused by the odd topic and by Naruto's lack of action, intimidated by everyone staring at her, the lady stood there gaping. "Don't you comment on my family! Don't you dare, demon!"

"I wouldn't except that you need to be reminded." Naruto said evenly, clenching his jaw in his attempt to remain impassive. He could feel the others staring at him, gazes flicking between him and his land lord in confusion.

The woman frowned briefly before her face contorted into an expression of horror. "ARE YOU THREATENING ME? MY FAMILY?" She screamed, raising her arms as if to attack.

"Actually," said a voice from the stairway. "Your daughter _is_ looking for you downstairs. She says your breakfast is getting cold."

Senseis Iruka and Kakashi climbed the last stair and stood surveying the odd scene. Both teachers quirked a brow, neither missing the knife embedded in the door not far from Naruto's head.

"My daughter?" The woman said, head cocking to one side. "Breakfast?"

"You're supposed to eat with her this morning." Iruka said gently, pointing downstairs with a somewhat strained smile.

"Smells good." Naruto said with a sigh, sniffing loudly again. "Say, if you don't want any, I'll eat it."

"NO!" The woman jumped, startled, as if she had forgotten Naruto was still there. Keeping her eyes on Naruto she began to head for the stair way. "You'll never get to eat her cooking!"

Iruka and Kakashi parted to let her pass, listening to her grumble to herself as she left. When her foot steps had faded away, the teachers walked over to the young shinobi gathered in the door way of Naruto's apartment.

* * *

"So you two slept in Naruto's room." Iruka asked, taking a sip from his cup of coffee. The kids had already given a synopsis about the previous day's events, informing their elders about running across the wounded kitten and fetching Naruto for help. The disagreement with the vet was glossed over, told only because that was when Hinata had joined the group. The trio recounted the evening, from dinner to fable reenactment, and had just explained the sleeping arrangements. 

They were all inside the apartment, sitting around on the floor wherever there was room. The scent of the caffeinated liquid pervaded the enclosed space, mixing well with the smells of the warm muffins Iruka had brought. The slightly open windows let in sunlight, illuminating the little gathering and allowing the morning sounds of the city to join in; birds twittering, people calling, a wind chime somewhere singing in the breeze.

"Yes!" Moegi said, gesturing with her fork in annoyance and threatening to send her food flying. "Hinata and I slept in there while the boys slept out here! What, you think we slept with Naruto?!" Her face turned bright red as she realized exactly what her words implied. "I mean-"

"We know what you mean." Kakashi assured her. "And this is the kitten that started it all?"

Sasuke sat on his haunches at attention. He looked at Kakashi steadily, trying to will the Jounin to realize who he was. Instead, the elder shinobi reached out a hand and stroked a finger over the kitten's head to which the young Uchiha didn't react. _Come on, you idiot pervert…_ The kitten thought furiously.

"Yup!" Konahamaru answered happily. "Hard to believe that the vet was so ready to kill him."

Iruka's eye brows rose at that but he decided to keep the conversation on track. "So how did you three come to be here?" He asked, looking at Kiba, Shino and Neji.

"They came to our house to pick Hinata up for some early morning training." Neji supplied, sipping his tea cautiously from the chipped blue cup it was contained in. "I informed them that she hadn't come home and we split up to find her."

"One of Shino's friends found her." Kiba added, frowning into his nearly empty cup. He finished his muffin and downed the dregs before continuing, face slowly turning red. "We followed it here and peeked in the first window we came across."

"Which turned out to be Naruto's bed room." Shino added, empty cup stacked neatly on his clean plate. "We're sorry we frightened her." He nodded marginally in Moegi's direction, Kiba doing the same beside him.

"But you two appeared in the kitchen, tied up and gagged." Hinata frowned, taking another bite of her pancakes and chewing thoughtfully. Konahamaru and Udon nodded in agreement, their mouths full from trying to finish their own plates of the fluffy confection.

Since Naruto had officially invited them over as guests, he had cooked them a breakfast of pancakes to go with the muffins Iruka sensei had brought over. In the time it took for everyone to find a comfortable seat (and for Moegi and Hinata to change into the clothes they had been wearing yesterday), the blonde had already put the kettle on for tea, made coffee and had almost finished his self imposed chore. Even Kiba had been impressed with his speed, adding a comment about how he would take his share, at which point Naruto had gruffly informed him that, since he had not been invited in, the blonde felt no need to feed him.

Kiba slammed his cup down. "Damn Naruto! What the hell jutsu does he have on this place?!"

"You triggered the alarm." Iruka said blandly, sipping from his cup. The others stared at him, including Kakashi.

"He has an alarm?" The Jounin asked, eye brow arching.

A corner of Iruka's mouth quirked up before returning to a serious expression. "This neighborhood can be dangerous at night. If you were all here as late as you say, then it would have been treacherous to try and walk all of you home. So, Naruto did the next best thing and kept everyone here where he could protect you. I'm not sure how he came up with it, but the alarm jutsu on the apartment is something Naruto designed. When he activates it, this place becomes one of the safest in the village."

Kakashi arched a brow at his fellow teacher at which Iruka just smiled and sipped his coffee. They both ignored the surprised and amazed looks on the other's faces. Silence reigned since no one seemed able to really form a coherent question or intelligent response.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Hinata blinked, looking in the direction from where the sound originated from. She was on the far side of the room, closest to the door and in perfect position to see out the windows on the other side of the room. A large sand colored hawk of some sort was using its beak to knock on the window pane. It was large, one of the largest birds she had ever seen, and certainly not from the area.

The bird cocked its head, looking at the room's occupants as they all looked back at it.

_Please don't tell me that thing is Naruto's pet!_ Sasuke thought, a spurt of panic running through him. Unable to stop himself, the kitten felt his fur puff out in an effort to look bigger as he backed slowly away and hid behind Hinata.

"Does Naruto own that bird?" Beside his cousin, Neji frowned, eyes narrowed as he watched the feathered trespasser who stared just as intensely back at him.

"Not that I know of…" Iruka stood and walked over to the window, sliding the pane upward slowly until the opening was big enough to accommodate the fowl.

The bird waited until he had backed sufficiently away before sticking its head just inside the opening. It gave them all the once over, turning its head this way and that to inspect them all.

"Isn't very bright." Kiba remarked, frowning at the bird. "C'mon stupid! Get in here all ready."

Sasuke, peeking around Hinata, got the distinct impression that the massive bird was unhappy. It looked over them all again, pulled its head back outside and took off.

"That's a…" Kakashi trailed off.

"I know." Iruka shut the window again and retook his seat. "But what's it doing here?"

Distantly, the squeak of a water faucet could be heard. Sasuke looked down the hall, watching the bathroom door. Above him, he felt more than saw the Hyuga heiress discretely lean back so she could do the same.

If he could have, Sasuke would have smiled. _I bet that moron has no idea…_

But then the Uchiha's thoughts derailed as the bathroom door opened and Naruto stepped out into the hall. The blonde had a towel over his head and was vigorously rubbing it against his wet hair as he stood clad only in the towel that was knotted at his waist. Flashing a lot of thigh, he turned and headed down toward the door at the end of the short hallway.

It wasn't Naruto's lack of decency that caught the Uchiha's attention or made both Hinata and Neji sputter; it was the blonde's figure. Sasuke had always thought his teammate soft and still childlike in his physique but that illusion was very much gone now. Puberty had not only made Naruto shoot up several inches but had also made him muscular in all the right places, too. As he continued to towel his hair, muscles in the blonde's shoulders, arms and back worked, standing out even more as rivulets of water flowed around them.

_I wonder if he's that defined all over._ Sasuke thought inanely, feeling himself blush. _Gods, what am I saying?!_

Pushing the door open with his foot, Naruto stepped inside his room and shut the door behind him.

Grateful that the blonde was hidden from view and disturbed by his own behavior, Sasuke slumped against Hinata. He looked up at her and watched her shoot glances in the direction the blonde had gone, a dark blush gracing her cheeks.

-I'm- I acted like her!- The Uchiha smacked himself with a paw, hating the confusion he felt. -What the hell…? Why did I…?-

He shook his head until his neck hurt. Steadying himself, the kitten ran through a quick breathing exercise until he felt more like himself. He found himself rubbing the top of his head against Hinata's back, making that odd _chuffing_ noise. Surprisingly, it was Neji who reached out and picked him up, placing the kitten in his lap for cuddles.

"YUMI!" Naruto's bellow startled them all. "OUT! No, OUT!" The door to the bedroom opened and Naruto stomped down the hall toward them all. He wore a pair of grey sweatpants and was fighting with a long sleeved oversized blue shirt, trying to get his hands through the sleeves while at the same time pulling it over his head.

For several seconds, Hinata got a very nice view of Naruto's lovely six-pack but then the blond won the struggle with his shirt and pulled the fabric down firmly, hiding his body completely from view again beneath the too large shirt and completing the illusion that he was smaller and softer than he really was.

_Oh Naruto._ She thought sympathetically as she realized that that was the point, that Naruto was hiding himself away.

Again.

He strode past her looking annoyed, and picked his way around his guests toward the window.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Sasuke froze, head shooting up in alarm as he realized that the hawk had returned. He began backing out of Neji's lap, ignoring the Hyuuga's hands as they tried to calm him down and keep him in place. He slinked away, hiding behind Neji and mentally willing Naruto to _not open the window!_

But, as usual, the blonde ignored his teammate's silent pleading and slid open the window. He still looked angry, his irritation reflected in the way he impatiently rapped his knuckles against his kitchen table. To make room for everyone to sit down it had been pushed completely against the wall, fitting perfectly under the window sill. As such it was in an ideal position for the bird to simply hop down onto as it ducked through the small gateway, pushing a large box in prior to its entrance.

The package was good sized and had been tied with thick rope. From the glimpses Sasuke got of the brown paper surrounding the box proper, it was anything but plain; scrawled in multicolored ink seemed to be more messages but the kitten couldn't see enough to make them out. The bird pushed the package inside with its beak then sat on top of it, flaring its wings a bit and hissing at them all.

Though he wasn't sure, Sasuke was betting the package was a present, if the colorful kanji were any indication. He assumed that, in typical Naruto fashion, the blonde would seize the parcel heedless of what ever animal guarded it and rip it apart until its contents were bared to the light of day.

None of that happened. Naruto let the bird in, closed the window and walked away. The blonde's attention was diverted to pawing through the refrigerator for food.

"Hey Boss!" Konahamaru said. "Don't you want to know who it's from?"

"I know who it's from." Came Naruto's muffled reply, his upper body hidden in the depth of the appliance.

"So," Kiba began petulantly. "Who is it from and what's with the bird?!" He shot a dark look at the sandy colored fowl who was busy hissing at him. It could have been that the hawk didn't seem to like Kiba because he was the closest to the table, but it was doubtful- Kiba just seemed to be giving off an unfriendly vibe that morning.

Naruto withdrew from the fridge and shut the door behind him with his foot, his hands preoccupied with working the lid off the container he held. A spoon dangled from his mouth making speech impossible as he circled the group until he could find a comfortable seat between Hinata and Neji.

"Who I receive mail from is none of your business." Naruto ground out around his aching jaw. "Neither is how it is delivered."

Sasuke read the label on the container of yogurt, finding it odd that he and Naruto both ate the same brand. Personally he preferred strawberry flavored; how on earth could the blonde eat anything _plain_? The Uchiha heir stuck his tongue out in disgust and jumped into his teammate's lap, watching as his friend applied more force than necessary to mix his breakfast.

"That thing isn't from around here." Kiba was saying, gesturing a finger at the bird. He nearly lost the digit as the hawk snapped its beak at it.

"Naruto's got connections." Moegi said proudly, her classmates nodding sagely in agreement.

Sasuke snorted and turned his attention back to the blonde. The kitten inspected Naruto's shirt with a paw then sank his claws into the fabric carefully. He scaled up the blonde's chest like some determined- and lost- mountain climber, working hard to not sink his needle sharp claws into the blonde's skin. He ignored the snorts of laughter his journey caused, stalwartly continuing upward even when his own weight began to tip him backwards. Just when he was wondering if he was going to have to use his claws after all to prevent his imminent fall, Naruto leaned backwards far enough to allow Sasuke to walk up with relative ease.

Disgruntled, Sasuke, perched on the blonde's shoulder, noted that his teammate had never stopped eating his awful yogurt.

Abruptly Naruto, spoon in his mouth, jerked his head toward Sasuke, his whole body following the movement. He made a pain sound as he moved away, nearly colliding with Neji sitting beside him, and Sasuke dug his nails into the blonde's shoulder to avoid falling off.

"I-I'm so sorry!" Hinata' voice quavered in panic, her hands making placating motions as Naruto, Sasuke and Neji stared at her. She began turning red and looked on the verge of tears. "I j-just… You're j-jaw!"

Sasuke felt but did not hear Naruto sigh, the action conveyed through the movement of the shoulder underneath his paws.

"I-I w-was…" Hinata began wringing her hands so hard it looked as if she had a grudge against them.

Naruto straightened up completely and snatched her hands out of the air with his free hand. His hand almost engulfed her two, and he squeezed them reassuringly before bringing her hands up to his jaw, turning to face her and removing the spoon still held between his teeth. He waited patiently until Hinata's brain engaged enough for her to continue her examination.

Part of Sasuke could only smirk at the scene. The two were so obviously in their own world at the moment that the rest of the room's occupants may as well have ceased to exist. The Uchiha heir looked over at Kiba and Shino to see if they were going to make trouble.

Shino, as always, was silent, letting his gaze wander around the room. Kiba on the other hand looked murderous, his face near apoplectic in color as he watched Hinata run her hands over Naruto's bruised jaw- over the damage Kiba himself had done.

_Oh, that must hurt!_ Sasuke wanted to laugh out loud at the irony that Kiba's actions were bringing the couple closer together. He looked over at Kakashi and Iruka and noted similar expressions on their faces. Naruto's little fan club were looking from the couple to Kiba, back and forth blankly until the light bulb of recognition went on in their heads. Then they just grinned at one another and nudged their shoulders together knowingly.

"Will you quit pawing him?!" Kiba shouted suddenly when Hinata shifted her focus to Naruto's nose, tilting the blonde's head forward to do so. They were nearly touching foreheads and the girl seemed to be having some difficulty keeping a straight face since the object of her affection kept crossing his eyes and wiggling his eye brows at her.

At the sound of her teammate's angry voice, the Hyuga heiress jumped, startled, and Naruto let out a hiss of pain because she had pressed too hard on his aching sinuses. The blonde pulled away from her and leveled an unfriendly glare at the uninvited brunette.

"What the fuck is your problem?" Naruto asked, trying his best to ignore the funny tones his voice had taken on thanks to the damage from Kiba's fists. "You've done nothing but bitch since you got here!"

"I am not bitching!" Kiba growled. "I'm annoyed because Hinata ditched a training session to come play house with you!"

Naruto frowned, glancing at Hinata who was working herself into another distressed state. He put an arm around her and pulled her against him, startling her and everyone else with his behavior. He rested his head on top of hers.

"That wasn't playing house." Naruto said, blue eyes like chips of ice. "_This_ is playing house." He tightened his arm around her possessively, pulling her almost flush against him, and rubbed his chin against her hair.

Sasuke snuck a look at Neji, blinking at the Hyuuga male's apparent lack of interest in Naruto's little display.

_He's extremely calm about this, considering that Naruto is nearly pawing Hinata._ Sasuke frowned, looking the Hyuga male over again.

He knew of course that Neji's and Naruto's relationship had undergone drastic changes over the past two years, a shift caused by the Chunnin exams. Against all odds, the blonde had surprised everyone and beaten Neji in their match, after having pledged to do so after the Hyuuga male had nearly killed his cousin. Shockingly, the blonde had not only knocked Neji off his pedestal of arrogance but had also managed to pound some humility into him. Since then, the Hyuuga male had become easier to be around, especially if Naruto happened to be in the vicinity.

A thought formed in Sasuke's mind about this but the kitten quickly stuffed it back into the hole it had crawled out of because it was just _so_ not possible.

"Fuck you, Uzumaki!" Kiba roared, bolting to his feet angrily, ignoring Iruka's shouted scolding. The dog lover turned his furious gaze on Hinata, and Sasuke felt Naruto tense beneath him.

"You wanna fool around with him, fine, but don't do it on my time!" Kiba growled at her. "You missed training and I expect you to make it up. I won't let anyone be weak on my team!" He headed for the door and yanked it open with enough force to make the blade embedded in it sway from side to side.

"Come on, Shino!" Kiba stepped through the door, clearly expecting to be followed. He left the door open, his heavy footsteps fading away as he went down the stairs.

Konahamaru got up and slammed the door shut when Shino made no move to leave. "What a jerk!" The boy said as he sat back down.

"He's a good ninja," Naruto said unexpectedly, loosening his hold on Hinata. "His people skills just suck."

Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke thought he saw Shino nod in agreement.

"Did you guys really have training this morning?" The blonde asked, looking at a crimson-faced Hinata for confirmation. He blinked at her dazed expression, noting the slightly vacant look in her eyes. Alarmed, Naruto gave her a small shake.

"Hinata, you in there?" He said in a light voice, nudging her again. "Does she normally do this when hugged?" He asked, looking between Shino and Neji for help.

"Overload." Moegi murmured.

Naruto raised his eyes at that, leaning around Hinata to look at the little girl. The blonde blinked and looked back at the Hyuuga heiress before scooting away to put several inches between them, encroaching on Neji's personal space.

"May I have more tea?" Shino asked suddenly, startling Naruto into his host duties.

"Um…Sure," Puzzled, the blonde rose to fetch the teapot. "Anyone else want anything?"

After he had disappeared into the kitchen with the dirty dishes, Hinata seemed to snap back to reality. She flushed redder than ever and seemed near tears as the kids told her about her odd behavior.

"Don't worry too much, Hinata." Iruka said, making calming motions and smiling. "You just gave him a bit of a scare, is all. No harm done."

But when Naruto returned and finished refilling the cups of his guests, he took Kiba's vacated seat, as far as he physically could get from Hinata.

* * *

More's Moment:

Hi all! Sorry about the delay but I hope you enjoyed the story and find that the wait was worth it. I'm still not sure about the pairings in this story- as it unfolds, it's possible that there won't be any though that doesn't mean I can't have some fun laying the ground work. Expect more cutsey moments though they will become few and far between as things heat up all over Konoha- I'm trying not to make this just another 'Behind the Mask' story as one reviewer put it. There is more going on than meets the eye and in the next chapter, Neji and Hinata are going to find this out the hard way.

Ah! I almost forgot- before anyone asks, assume that, since it is two years later, Akamaru is no longer a small puppy easily carriable inside Kiba's jacket. The dog has grown up to a as yet undisclosed size, so assume he's just been left to sit outside and has not been burnt to a crisp or something.

Happy tales everybody! Please review since feedback really encourages me.


	6. Chapter 5: The Lonliest day

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the naruto characters and make no profit from these works.

- - kitten speak

_thoughts_

**_kyuubi speak_**

**Chapter five: The Loneliest Day of the Year**

Sasuke watched his friend sleep, paying close attention to the way Naruto's chest rose and fell as the blonde breathed. The rhythm was normal, as far as the Uchiha could determine, slow and deep but with occasional interruptions that disturbed the feline greatly. During these brief periods, the blonde's body would tremble- as if trying to restart itself- ad this would continue until Naruto gave a little gasp and breathed normally again.

It was scary as hell as far as the kitten was concerned.

He was curled up on a corner of Naruto's pillow, the blonde busy trying to find a cool section of his sheets. Honestly, until today Sasuke hadn't known that _anyone_ could shift around so much while they slept. Thanks to the blonde's movements, the comforter was half pooled on the floor and the sheets had been pushed down to the end of the mattress. He watched the blonde restlessly toss and turn, dutifully ready to leap into action and do… something… if Naruto had another episode.

Everyone else had gone home about two hours ago, at around ten, and the only occupants of the apartment were now Naruto, Yumi (the package delivery bird) and Sasuke. Shortly after the others had left, Naruto had fed the animals and praised them both for being so good and well behaved with all the excitement going on. While they finished their breakfast on the table, the blonde had begun the all important task of cleaning up the mess left over from having so many guests; gathering up the blankets on the floor and putting them in the bathroom until he could clean them, doing the dishes, resettling the furniture, etc.

Once the chores were done, the blonde had joined the two, finally deciding to take a seat and have a look at his package. He had read the messages covering the outside first before tearing the thing open, petting Sasuke while he read a letter that had been inside. The kitten had watched the blonde make faces as he read, presumably in relation to the subject matter, and it had been interesting to watch Naruto smile and laugh genuinely.

"Hot," the blonde was muttering, curling up on his side into a ball amidst his scattered sheets and pulling Sasuke back to the present. "Hot, hot, hot…" He said it over and over again, each repeat coming closer to resembling a moan. He coughed and clutched at his head.

Whatever virus Naruto had caught seemed to be pretty nasty. Actually, Sasuke thought a minute and then realized that he had never once seen his friend sick. Beaten, battered, and bleeding, yes, but never sick as a dog from something as simple as a cold. Sasuke himself could remember a time or two when he had been ill, but those times had been when the Uchiha was still young and had been able to fall back on family support for care.

Naruto didn't have anyone.

Except Sasuke.

The kitten jumped down from his perch and walked over to his friend, putting a paw on the blonde's temple. Worry coursed through the small feline, voicing itself in a meow as he pushed his way through Naruto's arms and rubbed his head against the blonde's chin. He intentionally let his whiskers tickle the blonde's face as he sniffed, trying to get his friend's attention.

_Cats purr, don't they?_ The Uchiha thought frantically, moving out of the way as the blonde coughed again and turned partially onto his back. _How the hell do I purr? I'm a cat- I should know how to purr!_

A tremor ran through Naruto's body until he gasped, and Sasuke could only watch as his friend relearned how to breathe. The kitten felt helpless and if there was anything he hated, it was feeling helpless. It made him feel powerless.

Weak.

Just like he had that day years ago when his world had been turned upside down. He had lost his clan then, every person he had ever loved, and the one responsible had gotten away with it because Sasuke hadn't been strong enough to stop any of it.

The kitten shook its head violently. -NO! I'm stronger now! I couldn't help my family but Naruto… Naruto I can help, even if I am stuck in this runty body!-

Galvanized, Sasuke raced to the end of the bed and carefully slid down the part of comforter overhanging the side, using it as a slide to reach the wooden floor. He leapt out of the pooled material at the bottom of the make-shift chute, slipping and tumbling on the hard wood floor in his haste and nearly twisting both of his ankles. Cursing, furious with himself, the young Uchiha untangled his legs and sped out of the room.

* * *

Naruto woke up around seven o'clock that evening feeling unrested, irritable, and generally unwell. He shouldn't be feeling this awful this soon! He should have had more time to prepare and get the hell out of Konoha before he became this sick. The symptoms were just progressing too quickly- there was no way he would be able to leave now even if he wanted or had too. 

He'd never make it in the forest as he was now. Something would eat him, or seriously hurt him, while he was busy writhing in pain.

Considering what was in store for him at the end of the week, that might not be a bad thing.

_No! I will be Hokage!_ Naruto thought angrily, curling his hands into tight fists._ I will survive and make everyone acknowledge me as the greatest ninja!_

He draped a hand over his eyes and frowned when his fingers encountered a damp cloth over his forehead. He peered at it, recognizing the spare washcloth he had placed in the bathroom for Hinata to use during her stay.

_But, how'd it get here? Who…?_ There was a sigh from his right and he turned toward it, curious as to who or what was in bed with him.

The kitten he had taken in was stretched out on its side beside him, fast asleep. The feline twitched as it dreamed, its tiny paws kneading the air. It uttered a snort, then stretched, rolling onto its back and arching upward, legs splayed before rolling back toward Naruto. The kitten curled its head under its shoulder in an unconscious show of flexibility and opened its eyes, blinking lazily at the blonde. The two stared at one another for several seconds, Naruto smiling, the kitten blinking, but then the feline started, jerking away from the blonde with so much force that it slid over the edge of the mattress.

Naruto reached a hand out and grabbed the kitten before it could fall, picking it up and settling it on his chest. He put a hand behind his head, replacing the disturbed cloth, before running his free hand down the annoyed looking feline's back. He arched an eyebrow at the cat and it turned away to look out the window, ears back and flat against its skull while its tail twitched pointedly.

"I knew you were smart." The blonde said, cradling the kitten against his chest as he sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. The cloth fell from his head and he caught it, pressing the cool fabric against the back of his neck as he stood and took a few unsteady steps out of the room, finally regaining equilibrium enough to navigate the short hall without ricocheting off the walls.

He put the kitten on the table and disappeared into the kitchen, returning shortly thereafter with a glass of sugar water for himself, a saucer of milk for the feline, and a plate of meat cubes for Yumi, who was currently perched on the back of Naruto's lone kitchen chair. When everything had been set on the table, Naruto sat down, arching an eyebrow as he noticed the way the tabby reacted to his being so close to a large carnivorous bird. When Yumi hopped up and took a careful seat on Naruto's shoulder, the blonde wondered if his new cat was going to die of a heart attack.

"Yumi belongs to a friend of mine." Naruto explained, taking a drink and letting the bird playfully nudge his ear with her wickedly hooked beak. He cooed at her and she cooed back, allowing him to stroke his hand over her feathered chest. He smiled and gave her a piece of meat, careful to keep his fingers out of the way of her sharp talons as she accepted the food.

"I think she's my babysitter for a while." He arched an eyebrow and took another sip of his beverage. "I take it he's going to be late this time?"

Yumi, busy tearing apart a meaty morsel, paused in her endeavors and looked at the blonde sideways with an eye nearly as golden as Naruto's fading suntan.

"I'll take that as a yes." He sighed, making a dismissive gesture. "Does explain what Tamari sent me, though." His hand fished in the open package next to him, pulling out what appeared to be a fox plush toy. Posed to be sitting on its haunches, it resembled its namesake quite well, with red along its back that faded into black over the feet and the tips of its ears, then into white over the stomach and tips of the nine tales. It was soft and furry and very definitely homemade, with a carefully stitched message over its white stomach. The stuffed animal had been tied with ribbon to reduce its size so it would fit in the box, crammed in on top of Naruto's other birthday presents.

Out of all the people he knew, Gaara, Temari and Kankuro were the only ones who gave him presents on his birthday. To be fair, the knowledge of the event had fallen on them accidentally when Naruto had visited at thirteen and the first hints that something may be wrong began to manifest. The trio from Sand, though, had stuck by him, adopting him into their dysfunctional little family as a fourth sibling. After that, to repay them Naruto had done some research on the three, finding out their birthdays and showing up on the appropriate days like clockwork on their doorstep loaded with presents. A bit frigid at first, the siblings had taken to the party idea with gusto, making sure to do something for the blonde even if it was short and simple. But the fact remained that they were also the only ones who ever made a big deal out of it, treating it as a celebration that he was alive- as the joyous event it should be treated as.

Though he did the same for them and for everyone precious to him in Konoha he considered friend or family, Naruto was something of a hypocrite when it came to the subject of his own birthday. No one had celebrated his birthday in the usual sense when he was little and the whole affair had actually become associated with pain and sadness somewhere along the way during the blonde's early years.

He had actually come to fear the event, given the increasing acts of violence he was constantly exposed to year after year around this time.

Naruto had never been invited to anyone else's birthday party, and, in truth, hadn't initially understood why anyone would want to have a party about something like a birthday in the first place, the event being so horrible. Unless they were all closet masochists, he just couldn't fathom why the other kids in his class passed out invitations about parties, why they got so excited, why the invitees asked the person what they wanted for a gift. Why would anyone want to attend such a function willingly when everyone was going to be beaten to a bloody pulp?

After Naruto had learned about what he was though- learned about why the village seemed to hate him so- he began to understand that his thoughts on the subject were wrong. The blonde had then reevaluated the concept, coming to the conclusion that birthdays were fun celebrations where you showed others how happy you were they were born and that they were in your life, a way to congratulate a child on making it another year in the ever dangerous world of being a ninja.

Unless you were named Naruto Uzumaki, of course; then birthdays were bad and gave people an excuse to hurt you even more than normal.

Iruka sensei had asked Naruto once if he had wanted a party for his birthday, a _real_ party, one that befitted a _real_ birthday celebration. The blonde remembered feeling his heart swell with emotion at the gesture. He had wanted one, the gods knew Naruto had wanted one, had wanted to feel all that much sought after love and attention directed at him _just once_. To be treated as a normal child and wished happy birthday by people who really meant it, who loved him, who were sincerely happy they were part of his life…!

Gods he had wanted it, wanted it so desperately it was heartrending.

But he had said no, and laughed it off, making the excuse that he had too much training to, that his birthday wasn't important to him.

He had even smiled while he lied.

Iruka sensei had put a hand on his head and ruffled his hair affectionately as the man took the boy at his word. The teacher did make a point of trying to visit Naruto on his birthday when he had time, bringing some sort of cake confection for the two to share. It was a pale excuse for the real thing, though, and both of them knew it.

**_I still don't understand why you said no, Kit. _**The fox stopped it's restless pacing in the back of his mind, sitting on her haunches to peer at him through the bars of her cage. **_You wanted it so badly you went home and cried that night. You were depressed for a week after. Why didn't you tell anyone it was your birthday? Why wouldn't you let them celebrate it with you?_**

_Because my birthday isn't a reason for happiness._ Naruto told her, feeling a lump form in his throat at the hurtful memories. _I didn't want their pity. I didn't want them to feel obligated for something that they didn't want to be at to begin with. I…I don't think I could have taken it, finding out that they had come because Iruka had _forced_ them to show up. _

He also hadn't been on the best of terms with many of his classmates, had only just started forming friendships with a handful of them. Underneath everything was the nagging fear of what would happen if Iruka did actually thrown a party. What if, even with all the bells and whistles, none of the invitees wanted to come? Not _unable_ to come, just simply didn't want to attend a function that involved Naruto.

The crushing disappointment that would have followed such knowledge… Of actual confirmation that no one gave a _damn _about him…

Naruto hadn't thought his heart would be able to take it. Instead he just opted to disappear for the week the festival lasted rather than say anything to draw attention, letting his classmates celebrate and mourn with their families while he camped outside the village's walls in the dubious safety of the surrounding forest or simply went elsewhere until everything returned to normal.

The fox pushed her muzzle through the bars to nudge the blonde's mental form. _I**s this why you made arrangements to meet up with Shukaku's kit this year outside of the village instead of accepting his offer to stay in Leaf through the holiday? You visit his family because they seem to genuinely care for you while…**_

Naruto heard himself sob, sightlessly staring at the stuffed fox he was clutching. He swiped angrily at the tears he only just now noticed running down his face, furious at himself for being so pitiful. He stood, sniffling, and set the stuffed fox on the table. The blonde coaxed Yumi onto his arm and walked carefully over to the window, sliding the glass pane up to navigate his arm and the bird perched on it through. With a flap of wings, the hawk took off to go hunt down her dinner.

Naruto left the window open and walked back to the table, pushing in his chair. He set the kitten, which had been staring at him again, on the floor and finished off his drink, putting the empty dishes in the sink to do later. He paused by the package again on his way back to his room, running a hand over the intricately stitched "Happy Birthday, Naruto!" along the fox's tummy. The blonde stood there petting the stuffed animal for several minutes, ignoring the kitten by his feet even when it laid a paw against his leg and mewed softly up at him.

_I visit them…_ Naruto gave in and angrily picked up the toy, hugging it fiercely as if it were the only thing he had left in the world to hold on to. _Because I am so __**pathetic**__ that I'll take any affection shown my way even if I am being a burden. They're the only ones who welcome me warmly, who know what I am- what'll happen- and don't hold it against me! No one here…_

**_That's not true!_** The fox interjected desperately, feeling the growing storm of loneliness and self-loathing rising in him. **_That Iruka person likes you. You know he does and you like him too. You've told me that you think of him as a parent…!_**

But the fox realized that she was grasping at straws; one person, even one considered a parent, could not supply the amount of love and care Naruto needed right now. Iruka was in the village, was present, but he had his own duties to attend to at this time of the year and was not available all the time. On top of that, the sensei put up a barrier between himself and the fox vessel, though the Kyuubi was fairly certain the man didn't mean to do it. The fox bet Iruka didn't even realize that he pulled away both emotionally and physically when Naruto was in the vicinity this time of year, didn't notice that even when he was spending time with Naruto, he wasn't really _there._

But you could bet Naruto noticed- boy had he noticed- and had taken it to heart. Any other time and Iruka was a stalwart ally against all threats, dependable to a fault, but not when the blonde needed his help the most, the holiday stirring the sensei's old prejudices to the surface of his subconscious. The fox suspected that the latter was partly why Naruto had refused Iruka's offer of celebrating the kit's birthday the one time the man had offered.

Of course, the fact that the man had only offered to do it once, years ago, spoke volumes all on its own.

The fox knew that her kit was waiting for her to continue but for the life of her, she could not think of anything that would offer comfort. **_You are not pathetic. You are an extremely strong person and don't ever doubt it, Kit._**

Her words though had little effect, did little to stem the tide of ugly emotions flooding Naruto's heart. They poured over her like a thick wave, stealing any warmth she felt and leaving her feeling empty.

Alone.

How anyone in the village could ignore the emotional howl of pain coming from this boy was beyond the demon. How any of the idiots could fall for the happy-go-lucky act Naruto put on in public was mind-boggling. Only a true monster could ignore such evident pain, only something truly evil could accomplish such a feat.

_It hurts so much._ Naruto said, the admission whispered in a small voice, as if he couldn't stand to say it even in his own mind.

**_I know._ **The fox whispered back, unsure if he was referring to the pain in his heart or to what was physically happening to him, but trying to offer assurance and comfort none the less. **_But it will get better, you know it will._**

"How can you say that?" He whispered out loud, clutching the stuffed animal in his arms, voice a mixture of anger, confusion, and hopelessness. He pulled away mentally from the fox's cage, suddenly desperate for some personal privacy. "The seal's breaking- I can feel it so I know you can, too. There's no guarantee I'll be alive next week."

_If I die, no one will know._

And, in all likelihood, no one would care, either.

Well, Konoha residents had always been sticklers for consistency.

He wiped at his eyes with the back of one hand while the other dangled at his side with the stuffed fox hanging from it. Naruto looked out the window at the darkening sky, gazing out at it through his own doleful reflection. In the distance he could see the beginnings of the giant bonfire that would be lit at the end of the week and lights twinkled in the gathering dark, providing illumination for the occupied dance floor centered in the festival grounds.

Naruto knew that he could go join in the party festivities. He was a member of the village. He had lost his parents to the battle with the fox. He was the one who had to bear the burden for the village's mistake. The blonde had every right to go down there to pay his respects at the memorial, to go down there and dance on the dance floor, to go down there and play the games offered by the visiting vendors just like every other member of the village.

Too bad no one else seemed to think so.

"Gods, I hate my birthday." He whispered to his dark apartment, crying silently, watching with dull eyes as a firework was launched into the sky from the fairgrounds. It burst into a flower, painting the sky a brilliant blue before disappearing, the dying sparks falling back to the party below.

Naruto pulled the window's blinds, effectively cutting off the sight and retreated down the dark hallway.

* * *

"How do you forget to give someone back their wallet?" Neji asked, genuinely perplexed about how one could accomplish such a thing. 

"W-well, after wh-what happened," Hinata stuttered, thinking about her episode of paralysis and Naruto's subsequent desire to be as far away from her as possible. "I-I just…"

Neji watched her wring her hands helplessly and suppressed an annoyed sigh. They were hopping from rooftop to rooftop toward Naruto's apartment, periodically stopping to reorient themselves in the unfamiliar area.

The cousins had initially expected to run into the blonde at the festival, figuring that, with his personality, Naruto would naturally be heading there once the party got into full swing. In truth, both Hyuugas had been looking forward to seeing him and spending time with him in the festive atmosphere. But before they had even begin their search they'd run into Sakura Haruno.

"Naruto?" Sakura had asked, apparently surprised that someone was looking for the blonde. The pink haired kunoichi was waiting outside the festival gates, scanning the incoming crowd for- Who else?- Sasuke Uchiha. "He never comes to the festival. That idiot goes off to train or something this time of year."

Hinata had nearly panicked. "What?! Wh-when does he usually leave?"

Sakura had stared at her briefly before returning to the search for her idol. "I think today or tomorrow. Wait, why?" She asked in surprise as the two Hyugas took to the rooftops abruptly.

The night sky lit up in shades of red as another firework bloomed overhead, providing brief illumination of the darkened landscape. Neji landed on a low roof, then hopped to the ground, Hinata landing right beside him. Looking around, he frowned as he realized that they had overshot their target.

This in itself was perplexing, making Neji frown as he surveyed the area they were in. He'd been following what he'd thought was Naruto's chakra signature but obviously he'd been mistake since they had missed their mark.

And here he'd made fun of his cousin for holding onto the blonde's wallet.

Concentrating, Neji could sense the blonde now in a building a little behind them and to the left. The flicker of Naruto's presence was fainter than normal but it definitely belonged to the hyperactive ninja, which made the Hyuuga wonder just what the hell he and Hinata had been following.

"That's the building we want." Neji pointed at one of the larger buildings back the way they had come. He was keeping an ear out as well as his eyes peeled as they walked the short distance to their desired destination. Iruka and Kakashi had validated Naruto's warnings of being in the area after dark, telling the older genin not to be in the area unless absolutely necessary and to always have back up, preferably Naruto since he knew his way around best.

"Th-there aren't any lights on." Hinata noted, indicating the dark windows in their target apartment. "W-we may have m-missed him." She worried Naruto's wallet, safely tucked away in her sweatshirt's front pocket, between her fidgeting hands.

_But surely he would have noticed before leaving that he was missing his wallet..? _Hinata thought. _If you were going on a trip, you would want and need your wallet, right?_

"Oh!" A creaky voice gasped as they passed an alley opening. The Hyuuga heiress gasped, startled by the person who stepped out behind her.

It was an old man. He hunched over his wooden cane and peered up at them from under the brim of his moth-eaten straw hat. Tufts of white hair stuck out at wild angles through the gaps in the hat's material, making the man look like he had recently jabbed his finger in an electrical socket. The clothing he wore looked just as moth-eaten as his hat and the two caught glimpses of his skinny frame through the holes. He had some sort of pack on his back, the weight of which seemed to be the reason why he was nearly bent double.

"Are you two youngin's lost?" He grinned at them and the spaces between his remaining teeth were large enough to throw kunai knives through. Two cats, one white and one black, came out of the alley and rubbed themselves against the man's legs, meowing plaintively as they regarded the two Hyuugas.

What the hell was an old man doing wandering around at nine thirty at night?

"No, we are not lost." Neji said, and Hinata took a step toward her cousin as they assumed a back to back position.

One of the cats, the white one of the pair, darted out and rubbed itself against her leg, making the Hyuuga heiress smile as she reached down to pet the animal.

Only to have the feline sink its teeth into her fingers.

"Ouch!" Hinata said, pulling her hand away and cradling it against her chest as the wound began to throb painfully. Neji stepped in front of her protectively, foot flashing out to kick the offending animal.

The other cat, the black one, who had been standing beside its master, leapt into the fight and sank its teeth into Neji's arm. The two felines then nimbly dodged their retaliatory attacks and returned to the old man, sitting down on their haunches.

"What the Hell?!" Neji demanded, clutching his arm, trying to keep an eye on the creepy codger as the wonded appendage began to throb and cramp. Behind him, he heard Hinata give a low moan and drop to her knees. "Who are you?"

"Now, now." The man said, sounding much younger. In a puff of smoke, the genjutsu dissolved, revealing a tall young man dressed in simple ninja attire. The man's face was covered so Neji couldn't see his identity, but the Hyuga male could see the man's eyes and made every effort to memorize them.

_Because,_ Neji thought as pain coursed through his body, _I am going to TEAR them OUT!_

And that was the last coherent thought Neji had as his body was forced into another shape, Hinata beside him as he screamed and twitched on the floor. Seconds later, the pair mercifully blacked out, their new forms seeming to steam in the cold night air.

Finally triumphant, the three attackers closed in.

* * *

More's Moment (of babbling): 

Eek! Poor Hinata and Neji! What's going to happen to them?! What's going to happen to Naruto?! So many unanswered questions!

A note on birthdays. I don't know about you but in my family a birthday is a big thing complete with parties and cake and generally a very good time being had by all. My mom used to decorate our dining room with streamers and balloons and these creepy clown things that she'd hang from the lights. She'd shut the doors to the room and no one could go in until the morning of the 'big day,' the day of the person's birth regardless of the day of the party. When I was younger, I remember waking up all excited, eager to begin the day and look in the dining room, ready to be congratulated on being another year older. We usually had ice cream cake and my mom had these heirloom cake candleholders that she used every year. It was the only time they came out and she liked to tell us (every year, mind you) about how special they were, specially made by So-and-so for our birthdays. We were asked what we wanted to do for our parties and my mom would make it happen within reason, whether it was a roller-skating party at the local rink or a sleepover party at home. Meal, dessert, presents, goodie bags, and lots of fun had by all with memories to be rehashed the next school day.

I find it funny, now, that I miss all that, that I miss the corny fuss and bother with my mom saying "Happy Birthday Honey!" first thing and giving me hugs and kisses. My birthday is just a day now, everyone too busy- even me- to actually do anything to celebrate. I miss those damn parties and, in hindsight, I really wish I hadn't been in such a rush to grow up, especially when I catch myself wishing for simpler times.

When I was writing the kitchen scene, I found myself thinking about my earlier birthdays. I thought of all the thought and care my mother put into it, into it being a truly special day and making the most of it.

For the purposes of the story and to give an accurate emotional impact, I tried to imagine myself as Naruto. I thought about what it would be like to be completely ignored on my birthday, about how completely alone I would feel while everyone around me got ready to party at a festival I couldn't attend for a reason no one would explain. Forced to watch as others passed out invitations, wanting one so badly but knowing that I wouldn't get one, having to keep all that hurt tucked deep inside so people wouldn't know that their thoughtlessness caused me so much pain. Covering it all up with a smile and pranks, pretending that everything was okay because I was too afraid to reach out to anyone and ask why I wasn't as special as they were, afraid to ask why they got something wonderful while I was forced to hide under my bed, hoping that no one would break in and hurt me simply because I was there.

Then I tried to imagine what it would be like to have everything I wanted dangled in front of me by the only person who ever seemed to care, and being forced to reject the offer because of the fear in my heart about the possible outcomes.

What would you do watching such a situation from the point of an on-looker, suddenly made aware that this person was hurting so much and that no one had done anything to ease it? What do you say to them? Kyuubi is in this position, wanting to comfort her host but unable to help due to her confinement. Sasuke though… I wonder what he will do with such knowledge or if he will act at all.

As always everyone thank you for reading and please leave me a review about what you think about this chapter and the story thus far. Constructive criticism is always welcome and also kitty names. That's right! I'm having trouble thinking up appropriate feline names and I would greatly appreciate some suggestions.

Happy tales all!


	7. Chapter 6: And Then there were three

**Chapter six: And then there were three**

-YES!- The black cat pumped his paw in the air. -Finally, we have something to show for our efforts!-

Their leader nodded in agreement, walking to stand over their two captives. He pushed one furry body into the other with the toe of his shoe, pleased when it limply rolled over to lie on the sweatshirt. He shushed his companions, ignoring their happy antics.

-The Hyuuga heirs, one for each branch.- The white cat said gleefully. -Not a bad consolation prize- they may be even more valuable than Sasuke Uchiha!-

It was true; the ransom for these two would be astronomical and not just in dollar amounts. The secret jutsus of the Hyuuga clan were much sought after and would be valuable additions to the already awesome arsenal of their village. Returning home with such a prize, even if they weren't the original targets, could very well get their leader to forgive them their failure and let the trio live.

Smiling, the leader of the kidnappers bent forward to collect their victims…

…And got a face full of talons as a sandy colored blur shrieked and tried to peck out his eyes. The bird's beak tore through the skin of his face as if it was butter and soon blood was everywhere as man and fowl battled. The man was driven back, the bird dive-bombing him viciously until he was far enough away from the pile of clothing on the street. Then the bird turned, swooping down low to the ground and scooping up the two kittens and the sweatshirt they were on with its claws, pumping its wings furiously to gain altitude. It disappeared into the night seconds later behind one of the taller buildings, undoubtedly heading for the forest beyond to eat its prize in peace.

There was a moment of silence as the three stunned would-be kidnappers stared at where the Hyuuga children should have been. Then their leader gave an inarticulate roar, picking up the remaining clothing littering the street and hurling the pieces around in a fit of frustrated fury.

"FUCK!" The man screamed, enraged, stomping the ground and clutching at the gashes decorating his face. He snarled wordlessly, turning toward his incompetent assistants to vent his displeasure but paused when a familiar noise caught his attention.

-No way…- The black cat began.

-You've gotta be kidding me…!- The white feline exclaimed.

His subordinates began hissing, their fur puffing up as they stared back the way they had come down the alley, retreating behind their enraged leader for protection as the first of the pack became visible. Snapping, barking, and howling filled the air as the same pack of canines encountered earlier tore their way through the alley and spilled into the small street, hot on the heels of the fleeing trio as the three sped off into the night.

* * *

They were back in the blonde's bedroom, swinging from side to side in a hammock Naruto had pulled out of his closet and set up. The bed mattress was on the floor below them, a precaution if either of them fell out accidentally, the kitten assumed. It was a few minutes before ten and Naruto had only fallen asleep an hour ago something that Sasuke doubted would have happened at all if the blonde hadn't taken some medication to help it along. The Uchiha was lying again on Naruto's chest, feeling the newly washed blonde pant as he slept and watching while his friend's head tossed as he dreamed.

Beside Sasuke was the fox stuffed animal Naruto had received, the blonde having taken it to bed with them, the hand around it trembling violently in an almost convulsive manner. The toy had been the first item he had reached for after he was dry from his shower and dressed, and the blonde had clutched it in a death grip until he had finally drifted off to sleep.

_His birthday._ Sasuke thought guiltily, reaching out a paw and touching the stitched message on the fox. _I didn't know- he never told me. Did anyone in Konoha know? _

Naruto made quiet protesting noises, tossing his head again and whimpering. To his horror, Sasuke watched as tears slid down the blonde's lined cheeks. The sight made the Uchiha's heart hurt, though he couldn't understand why, and the kitten found himself inching closer to his friend's face. He allowed himself to rub against the blonde's cheek once before using a paw to readjust the position of the damp cloth covering Naruto' forehead. Sasuke tried to purr again, failed, and sat on Naruto's shoulder sighing in defeat.

The noise of flapping wings drew the kitten's attention toward the open bedroom doorway and several seconds later Yumi flew through it into the room. The hawk, carrying a bundle of cloth and fur in her talons, circled carefully in the tight space and dropped her delivery on Naruto's stomach as she passed overhead to fly back out of the room.

Frowning, smelling the distinctly coppery scent of fresh blood, Sasuke cautiously approached the items, batting at the fabric carefully and jumping back when something inside moved. With more force, the kitten smacked the bundle again, darting backward out of reach when something hissed in response.

-Come out!- He growled, fur fluffing out until he was nearly twice his size. -Come out, or I'll come in after you!- He paused, and blinked as his nose picked up something else. _Wait, I know that scent…_

-…Uchiha?- Asked a familiar voice and Sasuke paused, confused. He approached again cautiously and batted the fabric bundle once more as he looked for an opening in the material, again jumping back out of range as a feline face abruptly popped up from the far side, followed shortly by another one.

The three stared at each other.

-Who are you?- Sasuke demanded with a growl, moving back to take a seat on Naruto's chest again, effectively-and blatantly- becoming a barrier. He had an idea, a very awful idea, and wanted it confirmed before anything else happened.

-Neji Hyuuga.- One kitten said. Akin to a multicolored cotton ball, it had a fluffy over-coat marbled with shades of brown in a tortoiseshell design. Its chest and paws were pure white and over its shoulder twitched a plume-like tail that reflected all the other colors of its coat.

-Hinata Hyuuga.- The other kitten stated. Unlike the other, this one was a short hair, the fur pure blue and sleek but no less beautiful.

Both had the same milky opaque eyes, the trademark of their Hyuuga heritage.

_What the Hell is going on?!_ The Uchiha thought dazedly.

* * *

-So, we were turned into kittens by the same people.- Sasuke stated. He paced across Naruto's stomach, nearly itching with the desire to move.

Neji nodded, his plume of a tail fluffing out even more as he sat on Naruto's chest, moving up and down as the blonde breathed. He seemed to be thinking out loud as he continued his train of thought. -But cats? It's logical that we three would be targets since we are all from influential families but why turn us into kittens of all things?-

-Because we were too noticeable.- Hinata answered after a second of thought, watching the object of her affections toss his head as he slept. Naruto whimpered suddenly and the Hyuuga heiress rubbed her cheek against his until he quieted. She resettled across his collar bones carefully, keeping one of her ears trained on the blonde's pulse point while the other remained directed toward the other felines.

Sasuke stopped pacing and stood stock still as realization dawned, processing this new insight. Recently the village had become aware of a growing feline population problem. Since it was October and well past breeding season, the leaders of the village were at a loss as to why so much of the city was abruptly crawling with the graceful mammals. Plans to cull the numbers were already in effect and, among others, the top choices being considered were one, to offer a bounty on captured cats for relocation until their numbers were within acceptable limits, two, to catch as many as possible for spay and neutering and then selling them to other villages with mice problems, or three, to offer some sort of incentive to coerce people into killing the felines on sight.

It was a bad time to be a cat in the village, especially with the last option on the table.

The important point was that, with so many cats already wandering the streets, who would notice three more kittens? Who would care?

As if pulled against his will, Sasuke's eyes fastened on his teammate's face. He watched the blonde silently and thought about his brush with euthanasia, thought about the scene in the vet's office. Naruto had cared then- had taken extraordinary measures to make sure that Sasuke wouldn't meet such a fate- and still cared, taking in the kitten for the simple reason that it needed his help.

The Uchiha heir felt a pang of guilt knowing that, if their situations had been reversed and Naruto the wounded kitten presented to be beyond all medical help, there was no guarantee that Sasuke would have done the same.

It was a high possibility that he would have even petitioned for euthanasia even as he watched the animal trying to flee the injection meant to save it from pain.

-Anyone else would have listened to the vet.- Neji said, following the Uchiha's gaze. He lay back down, tucking his front paws under him and nodding to himself. -You were extremely lucky that Naruto's little friends found you.-

That was an understatement of earth shattering proportions from Sasuke's point of view.

-What is that?- Hinata asked suddenly into the silence, flicking her tail at the stuffed fox toy the blonde was still clutching.

-A birthday present.- Sasuke said slowly, mentally flashing back to how depressed Naruto had looked when he had pulled the thing out of its packaging.

-It's his birthday?- Neji asked, turning sharply to the tabby. -Why didn't you or Sakura say anything about it?-

-Who's it from?- Hinata asked, getting to her feet and coming over to sit beside the toy. She rubbed her cheek against it, sniffing the fabric delicately.

-Temari, I think.- Sasuke told her before turning to glare irritably at the other Hyuuga. -I didn't know it was his birthday. He didn't tell us.-

-Did you even ask?- Neji asked snidely, tail twitching.

-Did _you_?- Sasuke snapped back, baring his teeth.

-Temari…From the Village Hidden in the Sand?- Hinata asked and there was something in her voice that implied she was not happy about this information. While the rest of her remained still, Hinata's tail began to twitch, the tip of it doing an interesting impression of an angry rattler, a sight that Sasuke and Neji both found oddly fascinating, both watching intently as the blue fur practically vibrated back and forth.

Naruto chose that moment to shift position, causing his feline companions to utter meows of surprise as he rolled partially onto his right side. One leg hung over the lip of the hammock to dangle out in the air, setting the suspended bed to swinging again as the weight of its occupants became unbalanced. The bundle of fabric that Neji and Hinata had arrived with, abandoned after Neji had extricated himself, tumbled over the side and was lost to sight as a similar fate befell the blanket Naruto had previously been covered with as well as the fox toy, though Sasuke had the nagging suspicion that Hinata may have 'helped' the stuffed animal overboard.

Sasuke popped his head up, feeling his heart in his throat as he looked around. Being forcibly reminded that he was suddenly less than a foot tall was annoying, to say the least and the only gratifying part about it all was that Neji appeared even more at a loss than Sasuke did.

-Is everyone alright?- Hinata asked, head appearing from behind Naruto's left shoulder. She had chosen to go the 'Up and Over' route for safety as the blonde had moved. Cautiously, she put her front paws on his shoulder and peered over at her comrades, finding them caught in a space between Naruto's body and the lip of the hammock. They had been saved from going over it by the blonde's left arm, the appendage having curled protectively around the two kittens and holding them close to Naruto's body.

Sasuke and Neji nodded and headed toward her, scaling the blonde with care, both deciding that seeking refuge by the blonde's head would be the safest way to survive the night.

* * *

To say that Naruto seemed confused when he woke up would be inaccurate. Though he did look disoriented, the blonde took the whole situation rather well, all things considered. After all, he had gone to bed with one kitten curled on his chest and woken to three cuddled as close as they could get around his head.

Many people would have found that odd, understandably so, and would have freaked out a since kittens were not known to spontaneously reproduce asexually. But Naruto was not one of them. The blonde's eye lids fluttered open, unfocused eyes looking around as his hand came up and awkwardly felt around his head, investigating, all the while keeping the rest of his body still. He was curled on his right side, he discovered, and if he didn't get up soon, would be on the floor since he was slowly but surely sliding out of his bed.

He found the familiar tabby kitten first. Literally right under his nose, the little kitten was curled up in a tiny ball and easy to spot due to its distinctive markings. It appeared unharmed, sleeping peacefully as Naruto tried to figure out what else had crawled into his bed with them.

Next he touched the small furry weight on his head, cautiously running his hand over the body until he thought he had found its head. Finding two large ears, he ran a stiff finger over the fur between them. The animal moved under his touch and Naruto was able to bury a finger into the soft fur behind the animal's ears, caressing until it purred.

Last was the warm furry weight curled up against the back of his neck. He carefully petted the second unknown body, hastily pulling a hand away as he felt the animal wake. It stretched and four little feet pushed against his skin before the animal got up and draped itself over his neck. It rubbed against his jaw and purred like a motor boat.

_What a way to wake up. _Naruto smiled, feeling the purring vibrate through his skull, the sensation making him laugh and squirm. _I could get used to this!_

* * *

Sasuke woke up to the sound of Naruto giggling. Relief washed through the Uchiha, the sound loosening a tightness in his chest he hadn't been aware of. He stretched and rubbed his forehead against the blonde's chin suddenly needing –aching for- physical contact.

Naruto's hand came up and tickled the Uchiha's back, making Sasuke arch against the contact. It felt so good…! His throat began to vibrate, air rumbling over his vocal cords in what should have been an unfamiliar way but wasn't.

Sasuke purred as Naruto scratched under his jaw and along his neck, making the feline respond enthusiastically by rubbing his cheeks and sides against the blonde's fingers, driven onward by an incessant need to brush against as much of his teammate as possible.

Neji grunted sleepily before yawned. He was curled up on Naruto's head like a furry hat and when the Hyuuga male stretched, his legs dangled on either side of the blonde's head. Since Naruto was curled on his right side, it created the illusion that the usually hyperactive ninja suddenly had donned some sort of feline shaped mohawk.

-Good morning!- Hinata cried, brimming with energy, rubbing her cheek against Naruto's cheek bone. Though Neji and Sasuke had both stopped, she continued to purr happily and grind her head against Naruto's skin.

Sasuke grunted and stood, suddenly annoyed with himself and his behavior. He was an Uchiha, damn it, even if he was a cat and Uchihas did not allow themselves to be petted by anyone in so familiar a manner.

Naruto scratched behind one of his ears, caressing the furry triangle with a calloused but gentle finger, sending pleasant little shivers down the feline's spine.

_Okay, so maybe a little._ He leaned into the touch until it disappeared, feeling an odd pang of loss.

* * *

With a little urging, the blue kitten jumped off Naruto to sit beside the grey tabby while the Kyuubi vessel carefully sat up. The predominantly brown tortoiseshell kitten tried to remain in place by using its tiny claws but failed however, making a little startled sound as he tumbled head over heels down the incline created by the shift in the blonde's position. Smiling at the feline's antics, Naruto caught the kitten and set it in his lap, eyes watching as the other two kittens slid down the gentle slope in a more graceful manner, coming to a stop against Naruto's thigh.

"I guess it's time to start the day." The blonde said, yawning hugely and rubbing at his eyes. He scrubbed a hand through his hair, absently letting the blonde strands raked from his head fall to the floor. Naruto gave a sigh as his hands came to rest on the brown kitten in his lap, petting it thoroughly and soothing its fur back into place. The other two felines crawled into his lap as well and he gave them the same treatment, oddly comforted by their attention-seeking behavior.

Though he knew he had to get up, if for nothing else then to feed his growing feline family, it still took Naruto several minutes to make his body actually move. He just didn't have the energy to bound down the hallway like he usually did, immediately donning his carefully constructed village-idiot mask. He idly wondered if anyone even realized how _exhausting_ it was to funnel so much energy into that act then remembered where he was and that, oh right, no one cared or knew him well enough to know it was an illusion.

Well, that wasn't entirely true: Hinata and Neji knew him well enough to see through his happy-go-lucky pretense. Actually, the cousins knew him a bit _too_ well.

And that, of course, was part of why he had stopped hanging out with them as much as he had previously. If one was trying to hide a secret as big as his, one did not stay within close proximity of the very people who could see through the disguise, despite how much you may want to do otherwise. Ignoring them made him feel as if he were ripping off an arm but there was just no other way around it, not if he wanted everything to remain as it was. The pair weren't the only ones being subjected to such treatment but he could only evade Sasuke for so long before the Uchiha grew suspicious.

Now, Naruto had a secret that no one beside Kyuubi knew about. Though he continued to speak freely about his attraction to his pink haired teammate Sakura, in truth the blonde no longer had romantic notions about her. For years he had nursed the fantasy that the two of them would one day ride off into the sunset together, that he would succeed in romantically wooing her away from Sasuke and she would profess her undying love for him loudly for all of Konoha to hear.

Right.

Unfortunately, as Naruto found out, there is no stronger force in the universe than the determination of Sakura Haruno's heart. She had her sites set on Sasuke Uchiha and no one else would do, certainly not her weirdo blonde teammate. The harder Naruto tried to win her favor, the more disdainful- and violent on some occasions- the girl became. Well, the blonde got enough of that on a regular basis from everyone else in the village, as Kyuubi pointed out one day after a particularly harsh rejection, so why continue to subject himself to such treatment willingly? Though it took some time and was painful, Naruto ignored his attraction to Sakura until the feelings faded away into mere affection, until the thought of dating her became…odd.

With his blinders gone, Naruto began to notice other romantic prospects, namely a Ms. Hinata Hyuuga. Sakura had initially been the one to point out that the Hyuuga heiress may have more than a purely plutonic interest in him, though at the time he had suspected it may have been an effort to dissuade his unwanted advances. Naruto hadn't paid the observation much heed- had even been a bit annoyed by it- but when his attraction to the pink haired kunoichi waned into brotherly love, he decided to see if the off hand comment about Hinata held any stock.

Awkward but determined, the blonde began putting the theory to the test, slowly familiarizing himself with Hinata. He began making a point of running into her, of talking to her and learning more about her. She was pretty, there was no contest there; only a little shorter than himself, she was ideal cuddling size, her body not having lost the feminine softness despite all the athletic training he knew she participated in. The more they talked, the more it turned out they had in common. The Hyuuga heir already had several checks next to her name in the fox-vessel's book, a big one being that they shared the same shinobi philosophy.

Never give in. Never back down. Never go back on your word.

It was their shinobi way and both held it above all else. They had actually had a discussion about it once of twice over a bowl of ramen at Ichiraku's, specifically mulling over their personal views over the integrity, self-discipline, and self-respect inherently implied in the simple phrases. Through their talks, Naruto began to realize that Hinata had hidden depths, that there was an extremely bright and cultured mind inside the pretty packaging, but no one was willing to give her credit for it.

Naruto could relate very well to all of that- except for being cultured, for obvious reasons.

Though her teammates- especially Kiba, who was near fanatical about it- liked to keep her close, the blonde did get to hang out with her alone now and then.

Well, relatively speaking.

Initially, Neji sometimes joined them and Naruto turned those times into a sort of game, a contest with himself to see how much he could make the two smile or laugh, his exuberance usually becoming infectious and turning them all into a bunch of laughing idiots as they trained in the woods. Actually, as time went by, Neji joined them more and more, mostly as a chaperone for his cousin as the Hyuuga family was not too keen on the idea of Hinata spending time alone with the jinchuuriki. It was on one of those jaunts that Naruto realized two very important facts, both of which made his budding love life suddenly all the more difficult.

1) He loved to see Hinata smile, to hear her laugh unabashedly, the sight and sound making his nervous heart swell and face flush with warmth pleasantly.

2) He had a similar reaction when Neji preformed the same actions.

Oh dear.

_**I do not see the problem**_ Kyuubi had remarked afterward as Naruto worried himself sick over his indecisive and possibly perverted heart. _**Either would be perfect and I approve of both of them as potential mate candidates. Both would treat you well, as you deserve. Stop fretting- you are going to give yourself heartburn!**_

This had not comforted Naruto in the slightest; in fact it had done the opposite. While he spent the night pacing his apartment, unable to sleep both from nerves and a sudden case of acid reflux, the blonde had pointed out in no uncertain terms that a romantic relationship with Neji was simply not possible because they were both male.

_**Love knows no bounds, my naïve little Kit.**_ The fox had sighed dramatically, ignoring her vessel's fervent protests. _**You humans are the only species who continue to think that the only equation to a successful intimate relationship must always be male plus female. Your intolerance of anything else complicates your lives unnecessarily by this narrow mindset. Look at Iruka and Kakashi- do they not look happy when they are together? Do they not appear to be, as you humans put it, 'head over heels' for one another? **__**That**__** is not merely a plutonic relationship and you know it but, by conventional thinking, their happiness is not possible because both of them are male!**__**If they can be happy with one another, you could be happy with Neji. Your argument holds no water.**_

Naruto had felt himself pale as he worked through the fox's logic. She had a point but it didn't help him any with his indecisiveness and he told her so.

_**Again with the tradition equation crap**_ The fox had sighed, shaking her head irritably. _**Listen**_ _**Kit, forget what you think you know about relationships because it will only bring you pain and/or drive you crazy. You like them both. Either would be ideal for you. Find out how each of them feels and go from there. If, in your opinion, worst comes to worst and both like you, find out if they'll consider sharing you. Three people can work just as well as two and you'll have an extra shoulder to lean on. It is still not a problem!**_

Naruto had nearly fainted at this, caught between feeling both horrified and excited by the prospect. At the first sign of dawn's light he had been out on the training fields working off his anxiety, the pace he set exhausting, as if he intended to free himself of his thoughts and agitation by sheer physical exertion. At midday Sasuke had show up and the two had sparred well into the afternoon, the brunette picking up on his friend's anxiety and helping work through it. The Uchiha heir had teased him, trying to get the unusually quiet blonde to open up and talk. The jokes light and stupid since humor wasn't Sasuke's forte and Naruto remembered finally giving up his melancholy mood to laugh at a rather awful tale about a pirate, a priest, and a shinobi walking into a bar together.

Not long after, the pair had called it quits, opting instead to lay in the grass and pant while their bodies relaxed after the intense workout. Sasuke had been the first to recover which was understandable since he hadn't been working out since daybreak, and the blonde remembered opening his eyes to the site of his friend leaning over him, as sweat dripped down the brunette's temple and onto the grass. He offered a hand which Naruto accepted, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. The Uchiha used more force than necessary and hauled Naruto not only to his feet but off them and the blonde had stumbled into his friend nearly toppling them both until Sasuke steadied him.

"You'll never beat me if you can't stand up after a light match like that, dobe." But Sasuke had smiled, taking the sting out of his words. He held on to Naruto's shoulders until he was sure the blonde would stay upright, ignoring the blonde's grousing, simply smiling, not smirking, and the sight had haunted Naruto all night because now the fox vessel had a new problem.

He had paced his apartment, rubbing his chest unconsciously as he thought about Sasuke smiling, the image making his heart and face warm. Naruto fretted to the point that he woke Kyuubi asking the fox for advice since she seemed to know so much about this area. To his surprise the fox had stared at him in silence, her head cocked to the side after she had listened to his telling of the day's events, several moments going by before she spoke.

_**Oh Kit**_ She had said, shaking her head. _**Now that **__**is**__** a problem**_

And so Naruto, plagued by guilt over his own traitorous feelings toward the two Hyuugas _**and**_ his male teammate, condemned himself to denying his feelings once again and opted instead to remain alone, pointing out that if he could not wholly commit himself to one person, then he deserved no one because whoever opened their heart to accept him merited all of his love without limitations.

Kyuubi, always vocal in her disagreements, had told him how silly his logic was and that he was only causing himself needless pain with such a decision. She was right of course and he knew that intellectually but when Naruto had chosen his course of action he hadn't been using concrete logic. No, he had used something far more motivating and more primitive, rationalizing his decision using fear; fear that he would be rejected and ignored again, that he would be thought of as perverted.

As some sick monster by his precious people.

There were only a handful of them and only four of them knew what he was. Regardless of his feelings, they were all his friends and allies and he would protect them from all threats.

Even from himself.

Eventually, the rest would all find out about why the rest of the village hated him, about the demon that slept inside him, and then they would leave him, disgusted by his presence.

Because, in the end, who really wanted to love a monster?

He couldn't offer any of them anything either and wasn't that the point of a relationship, to find someone who balanced you out? He could only offer his partner a life of hardship, of pain, since undoubtedly the animosity he faced continuously would be directed at them eventually. No one was strong enough for that, even he wasn't, and the thought of someone being hurt just because they were going out with him- because they loved him- made Naruto's heart feel as if it were being ripped from his chest.

He would not –could not- willingly inflict such treatment on any of his precious people, not and live with himself afterwards. The negative possibilities far outweighed the positives, the dangers outweighing any gain. No, it was better to leave things alone; things worked as they were and he didn't want to risk destroying it all.

So Naruto, fox vessel and martyr, bottled up his feelings and ignored them. He settled back into his old routine, the act he had put on before entertaining the idea that someone could genuinely love him- that someone would willingly say such words to him and mean them…!- and fought hard to ignore the heaviness this created within his heart. He began to proclaiming his love for Sakura again-something he had not been doing of late- because it would only draw needless attention if he didn't have some reason as to why he was suddenly withdrawing from the Hyuuga pairs and Sasuke, the objects of his affection that he had spent months getting closer to and falling for.

It was a small price to pay, really, for their protection- a triviality really.

So what if, in the dead of night, he mourned over the loss? So what if in those darkened hours the illusion of the happy-go-lucky idiot shattered and the gravity of it all crashed down upon him? So what if the depression that came from the realization that he would never be happy, that he would always be in pain thanks to the seal, threatened to consume him? So what if he woke to hot tears on his face and hated himself all the more for his own emotional shortcomings?

No one was there to hear him except Kyuubi, who couldn't tell anyone, and that was all that really mattered. No one in the village was the wiser; the illusion continued and everything remained as it had been. Naruto tried to convince himself that his life as it existed was enough to live on and he refocused his attention on his goal of being Hokage.

This had all been months ago and Naruto had begun to feel those wounds healing at long last. The blonde ignored the almost painful tightness in his chest, mentally shoving away the depression that threatened to settle over him and send him back into the self pity trap he had managed to crawl out of. He shook his head to pull himself away from such thoughts, slapping his cheeks lightly to make himself focus.

The kittens needed breakfast.

He had to make as much of the day as he could while he was alert.

These were his priorities for the day.

Chasing the kittens off his lap Naruto lurched to his feet, groaning as his body protested and small stabs of pain shot through him. Unprepared, his knees gave out and his bottom landed on the mattress, thankful that he had had the foresight to haul the extra cushioning off the bed last night. He put a hand to his head in an attempt to stop the feeling of his brain sloshing from side to side and an arm around his waist to try to stop his stomach from hurting. There was a thump followed shortly by another as two of the kittens leapt to the floor nearby, meowing up at him, the sound urging him to get his ass in gear and find them food.

"I'm going." He said, grimacing, his internal organs feeling as if they were being tied in knots. Sweat dripped down his temples as he ground his teeth, using both arms to surround his middle as he hunched over, forehead pressed to the mattress padding.

_I can't… I can't move!_ Naruto thought fearfully as his body failed to follow his commands. He swallowed, nearly choking as he tried to force himself to ignore the pain wracking his body.

As if denying it would make it all go away.

Hadn't worked before in previous years but he was hoping it would this time.

_Have to get up,_ He ordered himself as he tried to straighten out. _Must stand up._

But…why? There was no where he had to be, no one he had to go see or meet. No one knew he was even here except his would-be nursemaid and he didn't have to pretend with that person around. Why on Earth did he need to get up at all to do anything? Forget the cats, forget the village with its festival celebration that he couldn't attend unless he wanted to go home in a _body bag_…

Fuck them all. Why should he care about any of them?

_**Because you are who you are, Kit**_ The whispered voice from the back of his mind was faint and the comforting effect minimal. _**You are Naruto Uzumaki. You care. It's integral to who you are, it's what you do.**_

_What if I don't want to care anymore?_ He snarled angrily. The blonde felt himself fall onto his side, letting out a pained groan as his body curled into a tight ball. _What if I want to be like them, not giving a damn about anyone except myself? Then what?!_

Distantly a part of his mind was appalled at this statement. Be like them? Like those bastards who sat back and spouted policy from the safety of their cushy little world? Like those miserable morons who never had to think for themselves, who had never set foot beyond their well manicured lawns, complaining about the world while others risked their lives to protect them?

Who wanted that? Certainly not Naruto Uzumaki.

If he did want it, to be like those idiots with their heads up their asses, and not care then that would make him…

_**You wouldn't be you**_ Kyuubi murmured, her words and tone soothing him. _**You wouldn't be the caring, wonderful kit I know and love. No one else has the courage you do, no one else is willing to fight so fiercely for friendship, or love, or simply for what is morally right. No one else would have fought for a wounded kitten like you did. If you didn't care, there would be a void. If you didn't care, then you wouldn't be Naruto Uzumaki.**_

_I love it when you give me an ego boost._ He told her gratefully, trying very hard to be still. _But this still sucks. _His insides felt like they were being ripped out through his navel and chewed on while still connected. The pain wound down in a tighter and tighter spiral, increasing in intensity with each pass, rushing toward a climax that he _knew_ was just going to be pure Hell when it crashed over him…

He was right. Naruto sank his top teeth into his bottom lip until he tasted blood, concentrating on making as little noise as possible. If he screamed, like he wanted to, then it would attract attention. People would know he was home and his ruse of being out of town would be shot all to pieces. No one who came to investigate would be here to help him. They would be there to hurt him and he would die because he would never be able to stop them in his weakened state.

He was vulnerable and near defenseless. To put it bluntly, if he was found now it would be disastrous; word would get out and anyone who had ever wanted payback on the Kyuubi would come crawling out of the woodwork for a piece of the fox, its human vessel an inconsequential casualty in their quest for vengeance.

So he kept as silent as possible, forcing himself to swallow back his cries as he rode out the convulsive fit that followed one of these episodes, and turned his thoughts inward, listening as Kyuubi crooned a lullaby for him in a gesture of comfort. He was her kit, her baby, and though she could not hold him as his body shook, she could sing for him.

Naruto's last coherent thought was that he could still hear her singing even after he passed out.

* * *

He woke to a small, sandpaper rough tongue lapping at his skin. Frantic strokes against his temple and over his cheeks, small laps over the tip of his nose- they got his attention and pulled him slowly from sleep until his eye lids fluttered open.

At first, all he saw was fur. The blonde tried to fight through the sense of disorientation and confusion plaguing him and figure out why he would have _anything_ made of fur in his apartment when such items always got dirty. Then he remembered the fox Temari had sent him as a present but how a stuffed toy could be moving under its own power, _licking _him no less, was beyond the fox vessel.

Maybe Kankuro had had a hand in making the object?

_**I believe you are on the wrong track, my kit**_ The fox told him gently. _**Please try again**_

He hated it when she did that, got all condescending on him, like a mother humoring a particularly slow child. Sadly, that was how he felt- as if someone had replaced his brain with a bundle of wool while he was unconscious. Thinking coherently was difficult, more so since his thoughts were scrambled.

There was a meow from in front of him, a cold nose thrust against his cheek, and Naruto's feelings of stupidity increased ten fold.

"Hi kitty." He mumbled, focusing hard to make his lips form words. The fur ball blocking his view backed up and he suddenly found himself looking into pale opaque eyes surrounded by blue fur.

"Hinata?" The blonde said without thinking. He blinked and raised a hand to rub at his eyes, convinced he was seeing things and color blind since he hadn't been able to tell the difference between a white stuffed animal and a real one blue furred one.

By doing so, he missed the shocked expressions on the faces of his new kittens.

Angry with himself, Naruto pushed himself upright into a sitting position, grimacing as his head throbbed painfully. He bared his teeth at nothing and berated himself, screwing his eyes shut as he waited for the massive headache to recede. "Idiot! Moron! She's not here. No one's here. You're alone turning into a crazy cat collector while everyone else is at the festival. No one else is here."

For a moment, he let himself feel the sadness this statement invoked, lowering his hands and looking at them resting in his lap. The loneliness he could usually keep at bay reared up and smacked him, making his heart ache fiercely while the rest of him felt empty. The blonde allowed himself a few seconds of sitting on the floor forlornly, feeling himself walk the emotional edge between not crying and bawling his eyes out.

Though it was there in a small portion, it was not self pity that made him want to shed tears. He had mourned all he cared to for that during his early years, spending most of his young life doing nothing but feel sorry for himself. He had asked, why me?, like anyone else in his position, and had cried himself to sleep hidden under the covers as a form of escape after afternoons spent getting the shit beaten out of him for no apparent reason other than that he existed. But there's a limit about how long you can mire yourself in self pity and you can deal with it in one of two ways.

You can either let it consume you utterly until it dominated everything and, ultimately, took your life.

Or you can use everything you have to fight back and crawl out of the pit before it swallows you.

There is a reason they call it self pit-y, after all.

Sitting there, listening to the everyday sounds of his apartment, Naruto was again reminded of how very alone he was. Head cocked to one side, he closed his eyes and listened, not moving as he tuned out the noises being made by the kittens.

It was so quiet inside the little home. Distantly, he could hear the kitchen clock as it ticked the day away and the refrigerator motor humming as the appliance ran. Water dripped in the bathroom from the sink faucet, something that he had been trying vainly to get fixed for the better part of two years. But that was all; apart from his own breathing and the muted life sounds of the felines as they walked around him and explored, the apartment was silent. For all intents and purposes, the place may as well have been vacant and waiting for a new tenant to arrive. The blonde tried to imagine other sounds, people sounds, and couldn't. These walls had never known laughter- only the sounds of pain.

"This place might as well be a fucking tomb." He smiled mirthlessly, opening his eyes and looking around his room, feeling every shred of his positive nature begin to slip through his mental hands and drain away even as he tried desperately to hang on to it all. "There's no one here- just me."

_**And me, unless you don't count foxes.**_

"Yeah, and you too." He smiled though it was only a pale imitation of his usual grin. "You're here too, Kyu, you're always here."

He turned his gaze on the kittens assembled at his feet and smiled, a small but genuine upturning of his lips. _And now they are too._

Taking a deep breath, Naruto shifted until his legs were under him and stood, slowly and carefully. Upright, he released the breath he held, trying to imagine his pain going with it. He did this several times, simultaneously calming himself and easing his headache. He would be alright, everything would be alright. His caretaker was on his way. The apartment was locked, stocked and barricaded. Everything would be alright.

He almost believed it.

"Let's go make some noise!" He looked down at the kittens, unable to stop the self-depreciating smile that quirked his lips. Watching his feet, he stepped off the mattress and onto the floor, immediately reaching out to put a hand on the wall as he became momentarily disoriented. His stomach still hurt and he couldn't bring himself to stand completely upright yet as he walked to the bathroom.

The distance wasn't far- only a couple feet, really- but Naruto had to take frequent breaks on the way, forced to lean against the wall and catch his breath, swallowing convulsively to keep from being sick all over the floor as his stomach roiled. The felines stayed with him, keeping pace with him and waiting patiently until he was able to continue. The blue kitten in particular kept rubbing against his legs and meowing up at him as if offering encouragement, while the other two sat nearby, their tails dusting over his feet, their fur tickling his toes.

"Okay." Naruto said when they reached their destination, ushering his new friends into the room while he held the door open. "Since it looks like you guys will be staying with me, there are rules you need to know. First of all, no one eats without washing their hands first." Flashing a grin at them, he closed the door behind him and headed over to the bathtub located on the right side of the room. Once at his destination, he leaned over the side and turned the knobs of the faucet until water began running.

The Kyuubi vessel straightened up but quickly let himself slouch, grimacing and rubbing a hand over his stomach as his knees gave a warning tremble and the blonde realized that he needed to sit down before he fell over. He'd be able to get back up again, he assured himself, giving into the impulse and sinking to the floor. To be a bit more dignified, he tried to fold his legs under him but his knees wouldn't hold the position, instead sliding out to lie on either side of his hips in a reasonably comfortable manner. Naruto leaned his forehead against the cold porcelain, closing his eyes and swallowing, arms resting against the tub lip as he tried to will away the pain suddenly coursing through his body.

"S-since," He paused, licking his suddenly dry lips, his temperature spiking and making it hard to keep his train of thought. "Since all of you probably need a bath anyway, this will kill two birds with one stone…Wow that's a horrible saying. I know cats eat birds but really..."

_**Stop. Breathe.**_ Kyuubi commanded as he began to ramble. _**Take your time. That's it, Kit. And again…Good.**_

"Gotta, gotta name 'em." Naruto mumbled, turning his head to press his temple against the tub, screwing his eyes shut in an attempt to focus. "They're dependent on me now so they should, should… have names."

_**I'm sure you'll give them wonderful names.**_ The fox whispered soothingly, trying to reassure him while hiding her growing alarm. _**But first I think you should go back to sleep. He'll be here soon and you have Yumi to keep watch in the meantime. Set the alarm and go cuddle with your kittens in bed. **_

"Food…" He reminded her, sagging against the tub and beginning to list to one side. "They need…"

"We'll handle it!"

Naruto forced open an eye, watching as the bathroom door opened. Two of his clones walked in and gave him quick salutes before turning to the three kittens gathered next to his leg. One of the clones approached slowly, clicking his tongue at them as he reached out to pick them up but the kittens began hissing menacingly as he closed in and backed up until they were nestled in the dubious safety of the space between Naruto's thighs.

The clone frowned, eyebrows knitting together as it stopped trying to coax them out. Changing tactics, the clone turned its attention to Naruto, gripping him under the armpits and gently lowering him to the floor, hurriedly moving to straighten out his legs from their resulting awkward position. Ignoring the felines for the moment, the clone tended to its creator, fetching and wetting a washcloth to drape over Naruto's forehead.

"You moved too soon." The clone told him reproachfully as it took his pulse. "It's really bad this time- No! Hold still. They're fine." It said as he tried to rise in response to the angry yowling suddenly coming from the tub. "They're unhappy but it'll be over in a few minutes and then your kitties will be squeaky clean. We'll feed them, too, so don't worry. You, though, are going back to bed where you will remain. Got it?"

Naruto nodded tiredly closing his eyes as his head spun, his wits scrambled. He felt something cover him and realized that it was one of his larger towels, the clone slipping a folded one under his head before rewetting his washcloth and taking a seat near his head. It put a hand on his shoulder in what he assumed was supposed to be a comforting manner but doubted since the gesture kept him flat against the tiled floor, his kittens vocalizing their complaints in the background and making Naruto feel incredibly guilty.

_**Sleep.**_ Kyuubi urged, beginning to croon another lullaby, ignoring his slurred protests. _**Sleep, Kit.**_

He tried to argue and remain alert, tried to tell her that she didn't need to baby him like this. He tried to do a great many things at that moment but it was useless and the blonde lost the battle for consciousness, feeling like a failure and hating himself for the weakness as his body shut down.

* * *

More's moment:

To give everyone a better idea as to what our three favorite felines look like here's a breakdown:

Neji Hyuuga is modeled after your typical brown tortoiseshell Main Coon Cat. If you've never seen one, these cats are _big_ when they are fully grown. When deciding on which feline to make everyone, for Neji, I wanted something that was not to be taken lightly and could do major damage in a fight despite being a kitten. Don't get me wrong; the kittens are still kitten sized (About six inches at the shoulder and 7-9 inches long at around twelve weeks old. At birth a kitten is small enough to rest in your palm with room to spare.) but, of the three, Neji is the largest feline since as humans he's the tallest. Main Coons are calm in temperament, intelligent and freedom loving, meaning they should not be confined to indoors, with semi-longhaired thick waterproof coats.

Hinata Hyuuga's feline form is based upon your typical Russian Blue shorthair, a quiet, gentle and affectionate cat famed for both its color and quiet voice. A Russian Blue's voice can be so quiet that sometimes it's not even obvious when it is meowing unless you can see its mouth move. The breed's coat is plush, heavy and double with a silver sheen to it because the hairs often have transparent tips. On a side note, the Russian Blue is believed to have a possible connection with the Norwegian Forest Cat from which the Main Coon Cat bloodline is descended.

Sasuke Uchiha as a cat looks similar to the black and cream tabby patterned Tiffanie, a semi-longhair developed in the United Kingdom. Tiffanies come in a wide range of colors and patterns, ranging from solid self colors to tabby and tortoiseshell designs. Unlike the actual animal, Sasuke does not have the traditional plume-like tail; his is the straight forward shorthair version. Tiffanies have an interesting temperament which is what made me choose one for our beloved Uchiha; Stable, dignified, but inquisitive and sociable.

FYI: During the creation of this breed, Burmese (a shorthair with a brown coloring, though several variations are currently accepted, including a very distinctive blue) blood was thrown into the mix and, as rumor would have it, a similar thing happened when the Russian Blue was being developed.

I have put way too much time into this, haven't I?

I'll warn you now, there's going to be a delay for the next chapter since I have projects at school to handle. I'm also working on another chapter to my other story, one I've been neglecting since I wanted to get this chapter up for everyone, so I hope you all feel special. As always, feedback is welcome and I am also taking suggestions for kitty names- trust me, you'll see why shortly.

Teaser for the next two chapters or so! Someone has finally noticed that Neji, Hinata and Sasuke are missing but will Naruto be pinned as the scapegoat for the crime? Things go from bad to worse as a presence triggers Kyuubi to appear and the fox demon heads out to investigate with the kittens for company. The drama continues to mount as Itachi makes an appearance and Sasuke is forced to confront everything he has been led to believe concerning his clan's massacre.

Until next time, happy tails everyone!


	8. Chapter 7: MIA

Chapter seven: Missing In Action

Sasuke sank his fangs deep into the clone's hand viciously, hanging on with his front claws as his rear legs scored the arm attached to the fingers that held him. The tabby was angry after being subjected to the humiliating experience of a none-too-gentle bath and wanted desperately to dish out some payback. His eyes stung from the shampoo, his ears were water-logged, he was freezing, and to top it all off he looked like a drowned rat! Somebody had to pay for the indignity of it all and, since he couldn't lash out at Naruto- _What had happened to him anyway?!_- the clone's arm was forfeit.

At least until he was grabbed by the scruff of the neck and his body assumed a half curled position as he hung suspended in midair. It didn't hurt him, something for which he was grateful, but it forced him to become docile as he was placed in a blue towel and quickly covered, the clone rubbing his fur with more force than the Uchiha thought necessary.

It looked like the clone was going to get some revenge in while Naruto wasn't paying attention.

He was placed on the floor, left to huddle in his towel and shivering as the chill of the tile seeped into the thin covering with ease. Something was set down next to him and he poked his head out to peer at the quaking bundle, oddly happy that Neji and Hinata seemed to be fairing along the same lines as himself: the cousins were wrapped together in a pink towel, shivering and equally unhappy.

-Did Naruto do this when he took you in?- Neji asked, teeth chattering as he poked his head out of the towel to talk to Sasuke.

-No.- Sasuke said, unhappy and in pain as his mauled shoulder began to ache. I just slept. He looked around the room and frowned, absently noting the white surfaces for the first time. He hadn't noticed it last night or this morning but… -It's so white…-

Neji nodded, glancing around and sniffing the air delicately. Hinata joined them then, peeking her head out of the towel. Their attention immediately went to the only spot of color in the room, the towel rack. Hidden in a small recess and sharing wall space next to the shower/bath combo unit they had just been dunked in, it was loaded with towels in various colors ranging from sky blue to royal purple. No color appeared more frequently than the others, implying that Naruto had no favorite, but all of them had the same shabby look to them much like everything else in the blonde's apartment. In the space underneath the towel rack was an oversized wicker hamper for dirty laundry, an edge of beige blanket peeking out the top waiting to be cleaned.

Sasuke frown deepened as he turned his head, his eyes wandering over the other side of the room. There was the requisite toilette and sink, both of which were bare of color, the porcelain chipped in places. In the wall above the little sink was a mirrored medicine cabinet and below the basin was a small make-shift cupboard with an empty hole where the knob should have been, presumably for bathroom necessities.

Much to his disgust, the kitten spotted their as yet unused litter box sitting in the corner beside the toilette. Positioned as it was, the box was hidden from immediate view, allowing for privacy while at the same time protected from drafts. Naruto must have set it up when he was cleaning up his apartment after everyone had left yesterday.

_No way._ The thought was reflected on all three kittens' faces as they contemplated the pan and its granular contents.

-Where's Naruto?- Hinata asked, taking a quick glance around and unable to see him. Her nose twitched and Sasuke bet that, like him, she could smell the blonde even if she couldn't see him.

-His bedroom most likely.- Neji said, stepping out from the sheltered warmth of the towel. Wet, the male Hyuuga was not nearly as cute a kitten as he was dry, his fur alternately plastered flat to his compact body and sticking out from it in damp spikes. Shivering as he steeled himself, Neji took a few mincing steps forward over the freezing tile, comically shaking each paw as it left the floor before launching into a full body shake to rid his fur of moisture.

Inwardly sighing but determined to find his ailing teammate, Sasuke followed suit and left his towel, spraying water everywhere as he tried to clear it from his shivering body. He was hit on the head after he finished and, automatically, he looked in the direction the attack had come from, spotting a scowling, overtly drenched Hinata, water dripping off her whiskers, one blue paw raised to smack him again. The Uchiha growled at her as she closed the short distance between them but she ignored the warning and came closer anyway, pausing only when there was an inch between them. Without warning, she launched into a furious body shake, stumbling after Sasuke when he tried to get away.

-That was unfair!- He said indignantly, untangling his legs after having tripped over them during his failed escape attempt. Though he wasn't soaked he was still significantly wet again, courtesy of Hinata's little revenge stunt, his fur absorbing the water like a sponge. Annoyed, he got back to his feet and shook himself dry, whiskers twitching when he spotted both Hyuugas near the closed door to the room, eyeing the handle.

It was one of those long handled ones, not a traditional circular knob and Naruto must have replaced it out of pocket at some point since it didn't match any of the others found in the rest of the apartment. It still shone, speaking volumes about how much usage it saw and also about the blonde's trusting personality. From what Sasuke had seen in his short stay in his teammate's home, the doorknob was the newest thing in the small apartment.

Sasuke hurried over to the pair, ignoring the clone as it cleaned up the bathtub behind him, and joined the other felines as they peered up at the handle. Cocking his head to one side and pawing at an ear, he wondered absently if Neji would hold still long enough for him to jump off the Hyuuga's shoulders; it wouldn't take much weight to depress the bar and Sasuke was betting one good leap would get his tiny body up there to do the job. Before he could do so though, the door handle swept downward to become parallel with the door frame as the door swung inward to permit the other Naruto clone to reenter the room. The kittens, sitting right in front of the door, got a face full of the wooden portal.

"What's up?" The one in the bathroom asked, pausing as it picked up the abandoned towels sitting on the floor. Catching sight of the heap of angry kittens and their proximity to the now open door, it winced in sympathy, watching as they pawed at their abused noses.

"Sorry!" The other clone apologized to them with a grimace but quickly turned back to its twin. "We have a problem."

-Do you hear something?- Hinata asked suddenly as she scanned the area, her ears swiveling around and up. She righted herself and ran to the other side of the door, gingerly stepping up onto the clone's feet. Her whiskers twitching, she began to try and nose her way through the gap between the door and the clone's shin and, when that didn't work, tried to twist her way through the narrow space between the clone's legs.

Neji and Sasuke joined her but the males were forced to quickley look at the floor as she squeezed through the narrow gap; her back legs got caught going through, making her scissor them behind her as she wiggled her hips until she maneuvered her way through, her tail lashing behind her. When she was safely in the hallway on all four feet, the other two began forcing their way out as well.

"Aw, you let them out!" Sasuke heard from inside the bathroom and deemed it best that they make themselves scarce. With a quick nod between the three, the kittens high-tailed it, no pun intended, down the hall and through the bedroom's open door.

Though the mattress was still present, the hammock that had been above it was not and Sasuke found himself missing the hanging bed after becoming accustomed to it. Naruto, the real one, was on the floor and unconscious. He lay half curled on his side facing away from them, most of his body lost to sight under the new clean comforter that had been carefully tucked around him. The blonde was still and, for an awful second, the Uchiha thought he was dead but then Sasuke saw Naruto's chest move and the moment passed.

-His breathing is better.- Hinata noted as the trio made their way over, carefully scaling the mini mountains of bunched fabric in their path. She was right; the labored panting Naruto had been doing of late was non-existent, the blonde's ribcage expanding and contracting in a steady rhythm though Sasuke thought he could detect a faint gurgle deep in his teammate's lungs when he put his ear against the blonde's chest.

Neji, having taken a seat beside the back of Naruto's head, was looking down at the blonde. The Hyuuga's nose was twitching delicately as he leaned forward, sniffing Naruto's sweat soaked hair. -It doesn't appear as if he's had another seizure.-

For that Sasuke was grateful because he never, ever wanted to be forced to watch something so disturbing again. Helpless, forced to sit there as Naruto convulsed and beat himself against the floor… The image was going to haunt the Uchiha for a very long time. The kittens had had to wait until the episode was over before approaching, before they could even think about getting close enough to help, for the simple reason that- as things were- the blonde was just so much bigger than they were. The only reason Naruto hadn't suffered a severe concussion or broken anything was solely due to the fact that he had been on the mattress when the fit occurred and the padding had sufficiently absorbed the impact.

"What do you mean 'a _call'_ went out?"

Reacting instinctively, the kittens dove for cover, crawling beneath gaps in the comforter to huddle against the blonde out of sight just as the two Naruto clones entered the room. Sasuke cuddled as close to the blonde's chest as he could while simultaneously flattening himself to the floor, one of his wedge shaped ears aimed upward at the continuing conversation while the other monitored Naruto's heartbeat inches away.

"Huh." One said, and Sasuke could hear feet shuffle. "I thought I saw the fur balls come in here." It made an annoyed sound before continuing. "I mean that **a call** went out."

"They wouldn't do it if it wasn't something major." A clone- presumably the other one- sighed. "But we can't wake him. He's too sick and snowballing quicker than normal. This year it's really bad."

"_How can you say that? The seal's breaking- I can feel it so I know you can too. There's no guarantee I'll be alive next week." _Sasuke flashed back to Naruto in the kitchen, the blonde's words echoing loudly in the Uchiha's ears. Naruto had looked so depressed as he had clutched the stuffed fox against his chest that it really hadn't been surprising when he had begun to cry

"_God, I hate my birthday."_

Sasuke stared at nothing, filled with questions as one thought in particular surfaced above the rest. _Did this happen __**every year?!**_

"There's another problem." One of the clones said, jerking the tabby from his startled confusion. "We've got incoming. Three chakra signatures at high speed."

"Fuck." The other one said softly but with feeling. "We can't let anyone see him. We'll have to keep them busy until his caretaker shows up."

_His caretaker?_ Sasuke's eyebrows knitted together. Outside of his loved ones here, who would a desperately ill Naruto trust to look after him?

Sasuke heard a grunt of agreement and then the sound of footsteps retreating as one of the clones left. A soft thump and a dip in the mattress indicated that the remaining clone had taken a seat on the makeshift bed nearby and as discretely as possible, Sasuke followed the slight curve of Naruto's upper chest until he found the small gap between his teammate's body, the comforter and the mattress. Cautious of the clone close by, the tabby crept slowly forward until he was directly in front of his friend's nose.

_He looks awful._ The Uchiha looked at his teammate and reached up to place a paw on the blonde's forehead, unsurprised as he felt heat radiate into the soft pads. Naruto's face was flushed and pinched from fever and pain even as he slept, hair dark from sweat and plastered flat to his skull. A damp washcloth had been placed over the blonde's eyes to help cool him down and Sasuke adjusted its placement, moving it higher so that it wasn't in danger of falling off.

The tabby could feel eyes on him and glanced up to find Neji scrutinizing him across the blonde's head but Sasuke ignored the other male and kept his eyes on Naruto as he tried to beat back the anxiety that was quickly tying his stomach into knots.

Naruto was sick, was really sick, and could possibly die.

And Sasuke could do nothing to stop it.

-Go to the hospital.- He said, giving in to the urge to butt his head against Naruto's cheek. He stopped soon after and simply rested the top of his head against the blonde's warm skin. -If you're so sick, go to the hospital where they can help you.-

"There you are!" The clone whispered triumphantly as a hand descended upon the Uchiha's shoulders and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck before lifting him into the air. The only reason why Sasuke refrained from yowling his ire to the world was that he would wake Naruto. As it was he lashed the air with his tail, the fur fluffed out to twice its size as it moved.

"I knew you were in here!" The clone grinned at him happily, blue eyes screwing shut as a grin threatened to split its face in two.

The tabby hissed as it dangled inches from the clone's face, swiping a clawed paw out in frustrated fury as it attempted to retaliate. _Just you wait! The moment you set me down, I'll claw you so badly you'll poof out of existence!_

It was as he continued to plot various means of vengeance that his ears detected the sound of someone knocking on the front door. He stilled, as did the clone though it didn't release him, and the pair listened intently as three sharp raps sounded on the distant portal. Silence reigned for several seconds before the visitor appeared to loose patience and then loud thumps filled the air as the wood was punished.

-It sounds like someone is kicking the door in.- Hinata commented worriedly, her head poking out from under comforter, ears aimed at the open bedroom door.

_Or trying to at any rate._ Sasuke added silently, able to only rotate his ears around since he couldn't move his head. Whoever was outside was incredibly angry over something and seemed intent on taking it out on Naruto.

The clone set him down on the bed and stood, silently moving up to stand beside the doorway, using the wall to hide its form from the open doorway. From anyone coming from the hall the room would appear unguarded, that Naruto was asleep and defenseless, and as the clone unsheathed two kunai, the kitten realized that that was exactly the point.

"Uzumaki open this door!" A familiar voice roared angrily, followed by more pounding on the apartment door.

-Kiba?- Hinata questioned and Sasuke looked at her sharply, frowning as her teammate continued to demand entrance. The Uchiha inwardly sneered at the Hyuuga; Sakura would never…

"Naruto!" _Damn it, Sakura!_ "Naruto, if you're here open up or we'll break the door down."

Not too far away a long suffering sigh sounded and Neji glided over to the tabby, shooting both his cousin and Sasuke a superior look that said plainly their teammates were annoying and nothing like his own.

When Lee spoke up suddenly, Sasuke took great pleasure in rolling his eyes at the condescending brown feline.

"Friend Naruto!" Lee called. "We have urgent news and need your help!"

Sasuke had a very bad feeling. It was an awful, overpowering sense of foreboding that made his fur stand on end. He didn't understand it but knew- knew in his very core- that something monumental was about to be set into motion and that life as he knew it was going to change.

The sensation was overwhelming and though he wanted to run and hide, the panic that suddenly flared into being kept his feet locked in place and unable to move.

It was like standing on the tracks of a steam-train, watching as thousands of tons of metal hurtled toward you and knowing that there was no where to go to escape being crushed.

-Sasuke?- Hinata asked, her pale eyes suddenly filling his vision as she thrust her face into his. -Sasuke are you alright?-

He realized he was shaking, trembling, that his breathing was just a little too fast. With a concentrated effort, he swallowed the fear, forced it down and locked it away as he concentrated and made his paws form tiny fists before launching his body into motion. The Uchiha jumped over the other feline and sped out of the room down the hall, not noticing the click as the door was closed quietly behind him.

-Don't open the door!- He yelled at the other clone just as its hand began to twist the knob. -Don't, you idiot!-

It was too late. The clone glanced down at him briefly as he ran up to it but didn't stop opening the door. It nudged Sasuke clear of the two foot gap with its foot, sweeping the Uchiha's small form behind it as greeted the three people and dog gathered in the doorway.

"Hi guys!" The faux Naruto said, puzzlement evident. "What's up?"

"Took you long enough to open the damn door!" Kiba growled and tried to shove the door open fully to gain entry. Smile dimming, the Naruto clone just held it firm, the wood not moving an inch despite the force being exerted on it.

"Did you have something interesting to say or did you just come to abuse my door?" The clone let its irritation show by tone of voice and by also tapping his sandaled foot against the floor.

Sasuke hastily moved away, taking extra care not to get his tail caught as he took a seat beside the copy of his friend. Now that the feeling of impeding doom had lifted, the Uchiha was incredibly irritated with himself and his previous behavior. What on earth had he been thinking? Yes it was annoying having everyone turn up just when Naruto was trying to…

_And I always call Naruto a dobe. _He thought, feeling incredibly stupid as the obviousness of this new situation hit him. He'd just been telling Naruto to go to the hospital and now help for the blonde was here, had just turned up on the doorstep! All he had to do was get his kunoichi teammate to see the real Naruto and she would insure that the blonde got treatment for whatever sickness was slowly consuming him.

-Sakura!- Swallowing his pride, he began trying to get his other teammate's attention while maintaining a wary distance from Akamaru standing nearby.

"Hinata's missing." Kiba growled angrily. "Neji is too."

"Sasuke as well." Sakura added, worry for the object of her affection evident in that small sentence. Her eyes drifted downward and caught sight of the kitten, watching in amusement as it waved a paw at her. She waved her hand at the animal vaguely before dismissing it and returning her attention to the blonde.

"Sakura mentioned that she had sent them here after encountering them at the festival." Lee told the blonde, effectively explaining their presence on his doorstep. "We thought perhaps, that, due to the late hour, they may have stayed in your apartment last night."

Abandoning subtlety, Sasuke's grey and black furred body scaled the clone's body until he could crawl over one orange clad shoulder, the tabby balancing on its perch and meowing loudly. 'Naruto' put a hand on the kitten, petting it absently as he focused his eyes on the ceiling and thought.

The blonde shook his head, expression worried as he looked at the pink haired kunoichi. "You sent them here? At night?"

"I didn't _send_ them here!" Sakura snapped at him waspishly, fist raised to hit him. "They asked if I had seen you and I told them about your stupid training trips! I don't know why they were coming here," She added when he opened his mouth. "But now they are _missing_!"

"Then let's go find them!" The clone said determinedly, taking hold of the kitten on his shoulder and ignoring the animal's odd flailing. After checking it for injury (because why else would it be waving both arms for attention?) the clone set the tabby on the floor and opened the door wider. Unfortunately that meant opening the portal wide enough to let Akamaru through and as soon as the canine could do so, he squeezed past the clone into the apartment.

And padded right over to Sasuke.

Instantly the Uchiha's feline body swelled to twice his size as his fur stood on end and began backing away, hissing and yowling threateningly. He slashed with his claws keeping the dog in view as it began to circle him, sniffing at him, uttering little yips that made the kitten jump in surprise. Akamaru was smart enough to keep his body parts out of the kitten's range and seemed to take great pleasure in taunting the apparently high strung tabby despite the humans grousing in the background over the animals' antics.

"Akamaru!" Kiba called the dog with barely contained anger. "Stop tormenting the little weakling."

_I'll show you weak, dog-breath!_ Sasuke thought furiously, the claws of his right paw springing out in readiness. He took a deep breath to calm his pounding heart. Wait. Watch. Strike. He was still a ninja, damn it, even if he was currently a kitten, and, changed form or not, he was still Sasuke Uchiha.

A very angry Sasuke Uchiha.

Hearing his master's voice gave the dog pause and the tabby seized his chance, launching his tiny body at the much larger canine's muzzle. Though he was angry, he did not want to permanently injure Akamaru; the dog had been mean to tease him, true, but that did not warrant crippling payback. So- magnanimously, as he saw it- Sasuke restricted the use of his claws to leaving lingering reminders in the form of scratches all over the top of Akamaru's head. For good measure, the Uchiha chewed on the dog's ear, too, not stopping until Naruto's clone pulled him off.

"Bad kitty!" The clone scolded loudly as Kiba comforted his canine companion. Out of sight of the brunette though, the blonde winked at the feline, mouth twitching to suppress a grin as Akamaru whined pitifully in the background. "Bad kitty, very bad!"

Sasuke preened as the clone's fingers tickled behind his ears and under his chin.

"Your cat attacked my dog." Kiba stated, disbelief and outrage evident.

"Akamaru shouldn't have teased him then." The clone said sagely. "That's what you get when you underestimate an opponent."

_Kiba just never learns._ Sasuke sighed and shook his head. The dog lover had made the same mistake during the prelims of the chunin exams and had paid dearly for it. You would think that Naruto's reputation for being Konoha's number one prankster would make people more wary around him but that just simply wasn't the case.

"Your words are very wise, Naruto." Lee interrupted. "But we must save this youthful energy for another time as our teammates are still missing and feared to be in danger."

"Right, so stop fighting you idiot!" Sakura raged, fist twitching with the desire to strike.

Sasuke frowned as the kunoichi continued to glare daggers at the blonde. Naruto wasn't really at fault for the fiasco- if anything Kiba was the responsible party- so why was she blaming their teammate?

"Hinata, Neji and Sasuke." The clone said, nodding as the others headed through the doorway. "We're coming to find you!"

Too bad that all three were literally right under everyone's nose.

Though touched at the gesture, the Uchiha rolled his eyes and sighed at the irony of it all. He was set gently on the floor and then, with one last wink and a quick grin that only the kitten saw, the clone left, closing the door behind it. Sasuke heard the tumblers move into place as the lock was engaged and waited until the footsteps faded away into silence before heading back to the bed room, for the first time noticing that the door was shut. Voices caught his attention as he neared and the Uchiha began pawing anxiously at the wood when he realized that one of those voices belonged to the real Naruto.

"…it has to be checked out." Naruto was saying, his voice dragging and strangely rough. "There's something in the air… Something is wrong… in the city. The forest is screaming."

_The WHAT?!_ Obviously, Naruto needed to go back to sleep because he simply wasn't making any sense.

"Let them handle it." The clone was saying and though Sasuke could hear movement in the room, he couldn't get a sense of what was happening. He scratched impatiently at the door and meowed pointedly until it opened to admit him.

The clone was helping Naruto maintain his balance as he tottered on shaky toward the closet. "They're trained warriors- ones _you_ trained, by the way- and they'll handle what ever it is. Those stupid councils they set up are probably just trying to pull you into their bickering like last time."

"No," Naruto said, reaching out to yank a clean white long-sleeved shirt off a hanger. He dropped it shortly after touching it, clapping the now empty hand over his mouth as he launched into a coughing fit that drone him to his knees. Getting back to his feet and stumbling the whole way, Sasuke watched the blond hurry to the bathroom.

Soon after, they could all hear him emptying his stomach, the painful retches making everyone wince sympathetically.

Heart being wrenched painfully by every sound, Sasuke hoped sincerely that his friend had made it to the toilet in time.

* * *

The feel of Kitsune magic as it brushed against the seal of her cage woke the Nine Tails up. She blinked, opening her gold eyes wearily as the spell took affect. Several bars of her cage began to dissolve, hissing angrily as if someone had poured acid over them. The seal over the lock of her cage crackled, retaliating against the assault by summoning Naruto's chakra, making it arch like lightning from bar to bar until both cage doors were entirely consumed by blue light. For one blinding instant the seal held, but then the light began to gutter. It finally dimmed to a pale phosphorescence, spent, and right after it winked out the hissing noise resumed until there was a gap large enough for the fox to squeeze through.

_**So, it has come to this**_ The fox rose, moving slowly, carefully.

Painfully.

She approached the newly made doorway, turning her head as she spied a familiar shade of blonde laying face down in the shallow water outside her enclosure. Immediately she navigated the opening, being mindful of the jagged edges as she crouched low and slipped through, hurrying over to investigate her fallen kit's still form.

_**Kit. **_She called softly, using a paw to turn him onto his back. _**Kit, answer me. Kit!**_

He didn't respond, just laid limply in her grasp, small and fragile. Already his mental self was showing signs of damage from the seal's fail-safes, already his form was beginning to wither and fade. Such injuries should only have appeared on the day of Naruto's birth as the hours counted down to his death but here they were, days ahead of schedule.

Stifling a sob, she pulled him close against her golden furred body, heart heavy with the knowledge that the first time she was ever able to hold him would probably be her last since the spell granting her freedom was temporary at best. She wrapped her tails around him, the extra supports helping to pull him completely above the water that perpetually filled the dank sewer-like maze around them, her tongue flashing out to lick Naruto's face clean. She had hoped that he would rouse but such a thing didn't happen and he continued to dangle in her grip limply as she began carefully navigating the hallways.

A call had gone out.

There was only one possible reason why another Kitsune had would try to free her during such a dangerous time and the very thought chilled the fox spirit to her core. The Family that lived in the forest surrounding Konoha knew how risky such a stunt could be- knew very well not to try and contact her or Naruto unless it was an extreme emergency- and would not knowingly risk alerting the village to their respective presences unless something catastrophic was brewing.

There was only one event that could drive them to do so, only one thing that counted under that category, and it made her fear for Naruto's safety. Naruto was her kit now, a baby given to her after the loss of her own little ones who had been murdered. Kyuubi would not risk his body lightly, refused to make him suffer any more than this miserable village had already made him endure. For the few scant days he had left she would protect him and sooth him, vowed to let no one hurt him. Anyone- be they a human from this village or a Kitsune attempting to curry favor- anyone who tried to harm Naruto was in for a very awful time indeed.

Kyuubi had spent many, many years thinking of ways to best communicate her displeasure about being sealed away. At first she had tried to figure out how best to take her revenge on the city and also upon her living vessel, fighting against the seal with every breath, happy when she made her vessel cry in pain. She had hated them all, had hated every last village for killing her babies and driving her mad with grief. Convinced that they had all played some part, she had been consumed with the need for justice and so had followed the scents of the killers to this place.

To Konoha, City of Traitors to the Contract.

She had hated them but her rage and hatred had mutated once she was forced to bear witness to the atrocities being committed against her vessel. Children were precious, they were innocent and no child should ever be forced to endure such torture. It was then that she had been forced to admit that Naruto, her vessel, had done nothing to deserve her animosity and was truly a victim just like her poor dead kits.

From then on, she had become more…creative when envisioning potential torments.

She had had nearly sixteen years to come up with such ideas, several of which she was particularly proud of and she almost wished that someone would attempt something while she was free because then she'd be able to impliment some of her favorites.

She shook her head hard in an attempt to clear such thoughts; Kyuubi would get to the bottom of this, oh yes she would, and no one would stand in her way.

_**I am sorry Kit. **_She murmured, finding an alcove in one of the walls and laying Naruto inside the deep recess. _**Duty calls.**_

With a final nuzzle to the unresponsive form, the nine tails raised her head high and walked determinedly and purposefully out of her prison.

* * *

More's Moment:

Finally! I'm so proud of myself that I got another chapter out. This chapter for some reason was like pulling teeth and I couldn't seem to write more than a few paragraphs at a time though I suspect it was because my mind was already on the next chapter. At long last I can start writing the scene I've been thinking about for months, which sounds silly but I have found the hard way that if I don't devote myself to the chapter at hand, the quality suffers.

You all are worth delaying my pleasure for so I try my utmost to deliver good chapters to everyone who reads my stories so let me know if I've done a good job.

As some of you may know from reading the latest chapter of Styx, I have a family member in the hospital that everyone fears is on her way out. Because of this, updates will be a bit delayed in coming which I am sorry about but there's nothing I can do about it.

I am thinking of posting another story which is something of the reverse of this plot line (though not completely because I think it would be boring that way) but I am having trouble writing Neji. I dunno what it is about the guy but I have a difficult time writing in his perspective.

Does anyone know of any stories out there that give a good, clear characterization of Neji?

Teaser: The search party heads out to find the Hyuugas and Sasuke as the festival continues to gather momentum. Back at the apartment, Kyuubi heads off to investigate this mysterious 'call' everyone is talking about and takes our favorite feline trio with her on the outing. A battle erupts, a tower is destroyed with extreme Kitsune prejudice, and a missing Uchiha is found unexpectedly amidst it all. Konoha's sordid past begins to come to light as they run into another Kitsune.

Anyone ever heard of the saying, 'Some secrets are best left buried?'


	9. Chapter 8: Kyuubi

Disclaimer: Standard ones apply. Don't own, don't make any money, etc, so don't sue me.

Chapter Eight: Kyuubi

There was nothing left in Kit's stomach and though Kyuubi knew it, she could not seem to stop the organ from continuing its convulsions. On her knees, shaky hands white-knuckling the porcelain bowl, the fox kept her borrowed body bent over the cloudy water below her and watched as the crimson tinged liquid she was heaving joined the mess already present in the toilet.

Never in all her years had the fox _ever_ imagined such a scenario as this when entertaining thoughts of freedom.

An eternity later, the heaving mercifully began to taper off as Naruto's stomach finally called it quits and calmed. Flushing the toilet and its disgusting content away, Kyuubi sat back on the floor on her haunches and simply panted for air as she put a hand to her head to ease the raging headache behind her temple.

"You should go lie down." The clone said. It held a damp washcloth out to her and the fox took it, pressing it to the back of her neck first before using it to wipe her mouth and chin clean. Done, she tossed it over Kit's shoulder into the laundry bin and accepted the prepped toothbrush being offered to her.

Truthfully, the clone was right; Naruto's body was not in any shape to go gallivanting around the forest. Kyuubi knew it and the guilt ate at her spirit just as surely as the pain wracking Naruto's body did. As it was she could barely make her borrowed body move enough to brush her teeth. She really should go lay down and sleep since there really wasn't anything else she could do.

Except that she had things to do.

"Help me up." Kyuubi said instead, trying hard to avoid drooling spittle all over herself as she spoke around the mouthful. She held out a hand expectantly, ignoring the fine trembling running through the appendage.

"No." The clone said flatly, folding its arms over its chest. "Go to bed."

Kyuubi growled as she pulled her hand back and spat her foamy mouthful into the toilet bowl beside her, face twisted into an expression of disgust as she once again was forced to bend over the porcelain container. Since a towel from the obstinate clone was obviously going to be too much to hope for, the fox used the sleeve of Naruto's pajama top to wipe the resulting drool away.

"You can't dismiss me." The clone reminded her, unnecessarily Kyuubi thought. "You only have one clone left in reserve and you never known when you might need that one. It's only Wednesday midday and you've still got two full days to get through. The heavy drinking will start today as the big sake merchants come through and will continue long into the weekend- plenty of opportunity for the cowardly to get a liquid ego boost." The clone made drinking motions to emphasize this point before remarking on the abundance of weapon vendors in the market place set up for the festival.

Disgruntled and not afraid to show it, Kyuubi glared at the clone as she mentally gathered the strength needed to get to her feet with no help. Eyes drifting toward the doorway, she spotted three feline faces peeking around the door frame into the room. They seemed to be staring at her and she stared right back before blinking in confusion as a feeling of familiarity swept over her. Shaking the thought away, she wiggled her fingers in the hope of enticing the kittens over. The brown tabby and the blue came over readily but the grey kitten remained against the door jam, dark eyes large.

"Hello." Kyuubi greeted the pair as they reached her, tentatively extending her unoccupied fingers only to snatch her hand back as a thought hit her. Grimacing, unable to suppress a low moan of pain, she levered herself into an upright position while trying not to touch anything with her hands. Making it to the sink that was thankfully only a foot away, she washed her hands and Naruto's toothbrush thoroughly before retaking her seat on the floor. She scooted a bit away from the stool but remained close as a precaution. Finished, tired out from the sudden bout of activity, she smiled tiredly at the kittens now milling around the clone's feet.

"That's better." Kyuubi sighed, turning her head so that her temple could lay against the cool tile of the wall behind her as she held her hand out to the felines in invitation. "Much, much better." She added in a whisper as the raging migraine between her ears eased marginally.

She shut her eyes and began to run through a breathing exercise Kit liked, taking deep slow breaths despite the burning caused by her actions. Pain could be controlled, you just had to know how to handle it. Naruto had always simply ignored it, pretending it wasn't there while he hid it from others, and though admittedly the method worked, it would be ineffective for Kyuubi for one reason.

Kitsunes felt.

It was a major source of both strength and weakness for Kyuubi's species. Kitsunes felt emotions. They felt their own, they felt those of their Family group, they felt those of strangers and sometimes of the objects around them. Kitsunes were playful by nature because such antics usually had a positive effect on their environment, which in turn made the Kitsune feel good even if the world around them was falling apart. Kitsunes liked to feel good and laughing made them feel good. It had to do with their endorphin production or some such non-sense- a very wise human had explained it to her a very long time ago but at the moment the knowledge escaped her. Maimed, bleeding, dying; so long as they could laugh they'd be in very little pain, despite the severity of the injury.

It was a tradition in their society to engage in a positive activity prior to going into battle. Anything would qualify so long as everyone was able to participate; singing, cuddling, hell even sleeping in a heap together would be sufficient. One rather memorable year stood out in Kyuubi's memory because the leaders of her group had gotten a _laphiga, _the Kitsune equivalent to a human stand up comic, to perform for the warriors going into battle against a much larger invading Family. The act had been so bad, so absolutely terrible, that her unit had nearly peed themselves rehashing it to one another as they fought and died against the enemy the next day. Of course, the better her Family felt- the more they had laughed themselves nearly silly- while wading through the carnage, the more disconcerted the invading forces became. The enemy had run in the end, tails tucked between their legs, convinced that the Fire Kitsunes were completely stark raving mad.

Kyuubi sighed happily at the memory and smiled, feeling slightly better. The feeling gained intensity when soft fur teased against her sensitive skin as the brown and blue kittens, obviously the more friendly of the three, climbed into her lap. Opening her eyes half way she looked down at them, her fingers hesitantly stroking the furry sides until she grew surer that they would not immediately bolt.

"You're not afraid, are you?" The fox said, smiling warmly as the blue furred kitten tilted its head into her hand to give Kyuubi's fingers more access. It was purring loudly, the vibration thrumming through Naruto's bones pleasantly while the brown kitten remained silent and reserved. Despite the less than friendly greeting, the latter did allow the fox to pet it under the neck, tilting its jaw into the movement when she reached the feline's chin.

"You're friend is, though." Kyuubi continued with a sigh, heavy lidded gaze going to the grey tabby still lingering in the doorway staring at her and the other kittens with wide eyes. "But that's okay, I would be too. I'm not the rightful owner of this body after although I do exist within it."

As if understanding her words the kitten in question suddenly bounded over, ears flat to its skull, fur fluffed to make it look bigger as it crouched threateningly. It growled at her and Kyuubi's eyebrows rose. "Do you think he wonders where Naruto's gone?"

"I think you hit the nail on the head." The clone commented dryly, arms still folded over its chest, one golden eyebrow hidden under the cloth of its forehead protector. "This one has been here the longest and seems attached to me. It's smart; it was running back and forth the other night between the bedroom and the bathroom, wetting a washcloth to help cool me down."

"Did you now?" Kyuubi asked, extending a hand to invite the feline over. The pitch of the tabby's growls became higher and its tail thumped the ground as the appendage lashed, making the fox immediately replaced the hand atop the brown kitten's back. "Thank you; I know Kit appreciated it."

Their own tails twitching, the kittens in her lap turned around to face their comrade but they did not leave their seats. For several seconds nothing happened while the felines stared at one another while Kyuubi and the clone stared at them curiously. The fox inwardly cursed Konoha's council and their stupid, sense-scrambling seal! Any other time of the year she would have been able to listen in on the conversation taking place but now that was not an option. She sighed sadly; Kit finally had friends that he wouldn't have to be afraid of, little fur balls who would have stayed with him despite Kyuubi's presence so long as he provided them with food and attention.

Just when the fox thought things couldn't get any worse for her kit, Konoha went and proved her wrong.

The grey tabby's growls abruptly stopped, leaving them all to watch in silence as the kitten sat back on its haunches. It looked as if it had been struck between the eyes, sitting stunned on the tile while the other two turned around. While the brown one began looking around the room, the blue furred kitten butted her head against Kyuubi's hands for cuddles. Both completely ignored the bewildered gaze of the other feline as those dark eyes flicked over the two cats once more before finally settling on the fox again. The tabby's little chest was heaving as if the animal were about to pass out but the fox resisted the urge to reach out and stroke the feline reassuringly.

"It's okay." Kyuubi said gently instead, concerned voice soft so as not to startle the kitten further. Who knew cat's could be neurotic?

At the sound of her voice- well, Naruto's voice- the grey tabby seemed to snap back from its distressing thoughts. Shaking its head vigorously from side to side, the kitten closed its eyes tightly while its breathing calmed, and Kyuubi was strongly reminded of Naruto's male teammate for some reason.

Dismissing the thought as something hormonally conjured, the fox again turned her head and pressed her temple against the tile of the wall behind her again. The coolness was soothing and helped her think more clearly about what had transpired moments before she had run for the bathroom.

"Sasuke, Hinata and Neji are all missing." She said slowly, closing her eyes as a frown tugged at her lips. "I wonder if Sakura would care at all if Sasuke wasn't included."

The clone shrugged, expression depressed at her implication. "She's a good person..." It said, as if it felt it had to defend her in Naruto's absence.

"She's a bitch!" Kyuubi snarled in response, the instant anger of her voice scaring the kittens from her lap. Just imagining the pink haired kunoichi made the fox want to hunt her down and backhand the female into next week.

Though Naruto had crushed on the girl for a while and saw her as a highly competent teammate as well as a good friend, Kyuubi had a very different view; instead of a helpful ally, in the demon's mind the young woman ran more along the lines of a screeching/ pain-causing/deceptive/ non-family/possible mate only as last resort bitch.

In that descriptive order.

Kyuubi did not like the kunoichi. At all. Sakura's voice could reach- and often did within Naruto's vicinity- nearly eardrum hemorrhaging levels not only in volume but in pitch. Though her kit had become desensitized to it and could listen when Sakura spoke, Kyuubi had not and often spent her time curled in a ball with her paws firmly pressed to her sensitive ears when the two chatted. That was another thing that made her fur itch; no matter how the conversation initially began, whether the topic be about flora, fauna, or fireworks, it inevitably turned to discussing Sasuke (read stupid/self-destructive/soot-in-the-nose/bad for kit bastard). Sometimes this was beneficial but mostly- by a landslide- it just ended up disheartening and angering kit, which of course forced the bright and sunny protective mask Naruto wore back into place.

No, talking to Sakura was a definite exercise in frustration and pain as far as the fox was concerned. Naruto considered her something of an older sister currently, a double edged sword at best. On one hand, this meant that Kyuubi never had to worry about her kit and the pink screech owl mating, a true nightmare if ever there was one, but it now meant that he would seek her out for advice-_ ADVICE!_ _Arrg!_- on certain issues such as courtship.

Sakura couldn't advise her way out of a cardboard box. Having her help Naruto was asking for nothing short of disaster and Kyuubi laid the blame for the shambles her kit's love life had become squarely at the feet of the bubblegum brained twit.

"'Sasuke! Sasuke! Sasuke!'" Kyuubi's impression of Sakura was nearly disturbingly accurate as the fox used the wall to stand. Even panting couldn't detract from the fox's blatant disgust on the matter. "You'd think the world revolved around the Uchiha brat from the way she carries on!"

"But you are still going to keep an eye out for him while you are gone, aren't you." The clone said in a tone that conveyed both anger and happiness over the prospect and her willingness to still look for the missing brunette.

Upright at last, the fox forced her barrowed body to take a shaky step forward. When she remained on her feet, Kyuubi strode over to the clone and growled at it. "Hinata and Neji are both missing as well, unless you forgot. It is possible that these are three isolated cases but I'm betting they aren't. Sakura will base her investigation on the theory that all three are being held together and will use Sasuke's chakra signature to find them all."

"It's not a bad theory, then." The clone said, helping her balance as she began disrobing.

Kyuubi finished pulling her shirt off and flung it in the general direction of the clothes hamper. "No, it's not, but I'm betting that using their chakra signatures isn't going to work unless one of them uses a shit load of chakra. All three of them are good warriors but they are still learning battle finesse."

She glanced up from fiddling with the pant's tie to see that the clone wasn't following her logic. "I mean that no matter the circumstances of the fight, it will get very, very messy. The more messy it is, the more noticeable it will be."

"Unless it's a surprise attack." The clone pointed out and grabbed her elbows as she undid the knot in the drawstring at her waist and let her sleep pants pool around her ankles.

"Exactly." The fox said, slumping against the clone heavily for a moment. Stripping down had drained her strength and she could only remain passive as the pseudo-Naruto sat her back down, the cold of the tile floor seeping through the thin material of Kit's boxers in seconds.

"So Sakura should be able to find them no problem!" The clone said and dusted its hands together before putting a fist on each hip. "They don't need you at all! Now let's finish getting you changed and into bed so you can sleep!"

The fox sighed- she had forgotten that her kit's clones could be as single minded as their creator. "Sakura, or anyone else for that matter, won't be able to find them by trying to sense their chakra."

"But you just said…!"

"All three of them disappeared silently which means that they were ambushed." The fox explained with more patience than she felt. "Since they were all abducted successfully, we must therefore conclude that other measures have been taken to subdue or nullify any means of their escape or detection."

"Umm…."

Kyuubi's patience snapped. "They got jumped and a jutsu is probably in place to mask their presence so they can't be detected!"

"You should have just said that in the first place!" The clone cried, scrubbing a hand roughly through its blonde spikes. "Gods it's like talking to Shikamaru. Or Neji- he likes to use big words too! I don't know what they're saying half the time!"

On the floor by the clone's feet, the brown kitten looked up at Naruto's likeness, its ears flattened back, its pale eyes narrowed. The behavior was odd and nagged at Kyuubi's attention but she ignored it as a tide of frustration washed over her.

"By Inari...!" The fox held her head in her hands to keep from strangling the other blonde. "Go get me some damn clothes!" Kyuubi ordered, grabbing the pajama pants at her feet and throwing them at the clone. "And nothing orange!" She called once it wandered into the hallway.

Kyuubi sighed tiredly and rolled her neck to loosen the stiff muscles as she sat for several seconds in thought. With another sigh she scooted herself over to the small cupboard under the sink, grasped the knob and twisted the metal handle until the lock gave.

_Desperate times call for desperate measures._ She thought sadly, reaching in to retrieve the small metal lockbox hidden behind the cleaning supplies Naruto stored in the cupboard. Kyuubi sat it on her lap and contemplated the innocuous contraption before finally channeling chakra into her hand. Flexing the now aching appendage she grabbed the padlock, the reverberation of the action tingling through her arm as the lock popped open easily with only a wisp of smoke to mark that the jutsu protecting it had collapsed. Eyes on the box as she lifted the lid, Kyuubi made a backhanded motion at the door, not bothering to look up as the portal swung shut by itself, the sound of the lock clicking into place loud in the small room.

Kit had always hated shots, especially and understandably so after he turned five, so seeing the three syringes laying in their padded container made Kyuubi's barrowed body want to flinch away instinctively. She held it firm though, unwilling to accommodate the action and risk upsetting the container and its precious contents. It wasn't like she was really a fan of the damn things either, but, if she was going to be of any use at all, Kyuubi would need to be able to move freely. That meant not having to be crippled by pain every second which is exactly what would happen if she didn't act fast- she knew from past experience that the carefully prepped solutions would fulfill her needs so that she, in turn, could fulfill Kit's needs.

The fox slumped back against the wall and let her gaze drift to Kit's pale skinned stomach, to the angry red Sanskrit lettering surrounding the seal that kept her imprisoned. They were fail-safes, incantations slapped on by Konoha's council to give peace of mind to the Village's citizens after the seal was weakened ten or so years ago. It didn't seem to matter that, out of all the numerous spells that could have been employed to do the job, the old man and hag had been vindictive and chosen the ones that would be the most painful possible for the Kyuubi vessel. Should they have a repeat of the incident years prior- an _incident_ that they themselves had caused!- and the Yondaime's already damaged efforts to contain the demon began to weaken, Naruto would become just another casualty in the war to keep the fox contained.

Already there were gaps in the delicate black ink, deficits that were proof of the seal's imminent failure and Naruto's demise. Red ink was already trying to flow into the spaces and fill the vacancies but something kept the crimson back, the battle marked by pale amber colored electricity that arced over the gap to keep it empty and untouched. The spell wouldn't hold for long despite how hard the castor worked to give her time; if Kyuubi wanted to get anything done before being sucked back into her cage, a booster would be needed to insure her continued mobility.

There was a meow from her right side causing Kyuubi to turn her head in the sound's direction. The kittens were still in the room with her and the fox felt slightly guilty for momentarily forgetting about them and locking them in with her. The trio had lined up in descending order and, for some reason, the sight made her smile.

"I'm sorry." She murmured and sluggishly raised a hand to pet the biggest one, the brown kitten. "I'll let you all out in a second. There's just something I need to do and I'm procrastinating."

With a pronounced exhale through her nose, Kyuubi turned her attention back to the lockbox and withdrew the appropriate syringe. It was the biggest and she knew that it would be the most painful of the series, knew that the thick blue tinted liquid it contained would burn like fire as it raced through Kit's veins. But it would allow her to be mobile and would hold back the pain when the Kitsune spell failed and the human fail-safes began trying to reinforce the seal. The shot would hurt but it would be worth it in the end.

At least that's what she kept telling herself as she pulled the needle's plastic cap off and positioned the beveled metal tip over Kit's navel.

"I really, really hate this." She whispered before thrusting the syringe downward as hard as she could, burying the needle deep inside Naruto's abdomen. She depressed the plunger to inject its contents and began making small helpless noises as she twitched in agony.

* * *

Sasuke watched Naruto- _No, Kyuubi in possession of Naruto's body, _he reminded himself- swirl the long rust colored coat around appreciatively once more before finally donning the new piece of clothing. It went well with the rest of the blonde's outfit, a set of khaki pants and a long-sleeved white shirt with some sort of swirl pattern on the front done in green embroidery. A black belt had been added to the ensemble and Kyuubi had attached Naruto's weapons pouch to it. To top it all off, Kyuubi had tied a bright yellow bandana around the top of the blonde's head, the forehead protector Naruto loved so much having been tied around his right thigh facing outward.

The Uchiha hadn't thought it possible but his teammate did actually own clothing that wasn't a shade of orange and the surprise of this discovery helped distract him from the fact that his teammate was the vessel for a demon.

The Kyuubi no Kitsune, the most feared demon in all of human history, had not been destroyed as had been taught to them but instead had been sealed within a person.

Naruto Uzumaki.

It still made Sasuke's head spin even though Hinata and Neji had already told him point blank that this was so in the bathroom. His teammate held a demon, _THE_ demon according to some people, but strangely this did not really alter the Uchiha's perception of the blonde. Naruto was still Naruto in Sasuke's mind.

He supposed that his rather blasé attitude to this new information was just because it hadn't sunk in yet and so he was not fully realizing all the implications of this new information. The sky was blue. The grass was green. His teammate shared his body with the demon fox. No biggie, nothing to get excited about. The urge to laugh wildly built within his small frame and Sasuke suppressed it, knowing that if he gave into the impulse he may never stop.

"It fits really well." Kyuubi commented and Sasuke absently noted the differences in speech patterns between the fox and Naruto. It was Naruto's voice but there were now pronounced hints of an accent. Among stressing the vowel sounds, the fox also added more roll to the 'r' sound in words that went beyond normal emphasis, making them sound exotic as the syllables came through the blonde's lips. There was a fluency to the syntax that had never been present previously, lending an almost liquid quality to the blonde's vocabulary despite the rougher aspects of Kyuubi's speech pattern such as the tendency to clip the ends off of words. "He knew Kit would get bigger this year and ordered the next size up."

"You shouldn't leave." The clone was saying, the disapproval in its voice thick enough to walk on. It watched as Kyuubi rolled Naruto's broad shoulders and adjusted the jacket's collar. "It's too dangerous to be out there- you don't know when the spell might end!"

The clone was clearly frustrated with its inability to convince its creator to remain within the confines of the apartment. While Kyuubi played with her.. his...- Sasuke still wasn't sure what gender the demon was- _its_ collar, the clone kept pocketing items from the table and the Uchiha wondered how long it would take before the fox noticed that the things it had so carefully spread out over the wooden expanse were disappearing.

"Put them back." Kyuubi ordered, not bothering to look up from doing up the coat's snaps. It was taking longer to complete the task than it should have been; Naruto's normally nimble fingers seemed to have suddenly become thick and clumsy and the fox kept fumbling each half before they could be fastened together. The fox let out a frustrated sigh and gave up. "Come dress me."

The clone frowned as it finished unloading its pockets; it did this by pulling the lining out, causing everything to tumble to the floor in a careless pile that it further scattered by kicking at carefully. Since reasoning with Kyuubi wasn't working, Naruto's look-a-like had turned to delay tactics in accomplishing its mission. Sasuke was quite familiar with these as the original Naruto used them fairly often, especially when no one else agreed with his ideas. The feline Uchiha watched as the clone dawdled in its task; it was childish, of that there was no doubt, but it could be very effective when used correctly. Before wandering over to Kyuubi, the clone took the time to examine the turned out pocket material for holes, removing any lint it found until the fabric was suitably clean, picking at stray threads, examining his shoes...

Sasuke rolled his eyes and suppressed the urge to sigh- the fox may reside inside the blonde but when it came to the clones, they were completely Naruto.

-Does Naruto do this often?- Neji asked, the bigger brown feline coming over to sit beside Sasuke, Hinata a blue blur behind him.

-He can.- The Uchiha said, rolling one shoulder awkwardly in a shrug. -He doesn't do it much anymore but occasionally he will.- He did not add that Sakura usually was the one to put a stop to it with a good hard whack to the blonde's head. The remembered image that popped up made him frown, though, and both Hyuugas noticed.

-Sakura hits him to make him stop, doesn't she?- Hinata said flatly, ensuring that Sasuke got the full exposure to her disapproval about this. Her fur fluffed out to make her look almost as big as Neji, her ears rotating to lay against her skull as she bared her extended canines. -I'm going to have a talk with her when we're back to normal.-

The Uchiha stared at her. So did Neji.

If Hinata's new-found back bone remained intact after they regained their humanity, Sakura was toast

The flapping of wings caught their attention and seconds later Yumi flew into the room through the open living room window, her presence sending the kittens instinctively diving for cover under the table. She circled the room once before swooping low to perch on the back of Naruto's kitchen chair and Sasuke's fear of the giant bird momentarily took a back seat as crimson stained tuffs of fur began to drift to the floor in the wake of Yumi's flight path. Before he could stop himself, the Uchiha found himself crawling out from under his hiding place to examine the fur up close.

"Well, I guess I won't need to feed you today." The clone remarked with distaste, blue eyes eying the red drops dotting the floor. "Though I think a bath is in order."

Sasuke looked over his shoulder at the bird, taking in its bloody appearance critically. From beak to talons, the entire front of the hawk looked as if it had been dipped in red paint. Bits of flesh clung to the bird's claws, stuck in the rough padding until she shook them loose to land on the floor under her. She was a gory sight to behold and whatever fight she had been in, Yumi had clearly been the victor.

The tabby turned his attention back to the tuffs of black and white fur at his feet, leaning down to sniff them delicately.

It smelled strongly of feline...

_Oh my God._

There would be no more humans being turned into kittens in Konoha.

Yumi, it seemed, had eaten those responsible.

-She missed one.- Neji said darkly, the brown kitten coming over to sit beside the Uchiha. The Hyuuga reached out and hooked a tuft with needle sharp claws before bringing the paw close to his nose for further inspection.

"She's got a note. Go get the mail for me." Kyuubi said, clearly amused by the face the clone made in response.

The clone grumbled something about slave labor but obeyed, stomping over to the crimson drenched bird to retrieve the note tied to its leg. Without asking, the blonde uncorked the small bottle and shook out the note, pausing briefly to untie the delicate cord wrapped around the rolled piece of parchment. With a glare of defiance directed at Kyuubi, the clone unrolled the paper and looked it over.

"It's for you." Expression faltering, the clone sighed and handed the paper to the amused fox.

"See what you get for being nosey?" Kyuubi murmured smugly, taking the proffered note eagerly. Sasuke watched Naruto's vibrant blue eyes skim over the page's contents, eyebrows shooting up into equally blonde hair as the fox grinned happily at what it saw. Grinning happily, the fox flicked its gaze back to the clone, smile widening as the clone took a defensive step away. It hurt the Uchiha to see that smile because it was Naruto's smile, the trade mark cat-that-ate-the-canary grin that always reflected the blonde's warm personality while at the same time warning of impending mischief.

It was painful to see that smile because the brunette hadn't seen it directed at him in a very long time, not since he'd gotten back from Sound- not since Naruto had dragged the Uchiha home.

Unexpectedly, a pained mewl forced its way out of his tiny throat as he hunched over, instinctively reacting to the fierce ache in his chest before he could stop himself. Though he knew it was emotional pain, it was not the kind Sasuke really didn't know how to deal with. It was worse than physical pain, which would have been easier to handle since he could understand the tangible result of injury. Pain was the body's way of letting itself know that it was hurt and that it needed to protect the affected area. It was acute and could be tolerated because, eventually, pain would fade. But this pain, this continuous non-specific ache spreading throughout his chest…! It felt as if his heart had been grabbed by an invisible hand and squeezed as he thought about the lack of Naruto in his life for the past year.

_This doesn't make any sense! _He thought, hunching over until his head nearly touched the floor. _Why am I so upset just because I haven't seen the dobe for a little while?!_

Exactly one year after the Uchiha's defection, Naruto had finally been able to fulfill his promise to Sakura and bring the Uchiha home. Sasuke had been angry when he'd woken up, enraged that the blonde had been able to capture him and drag his unconscious body to Konoha, sure that some dirty trick had been employed during the battle that ensued after meeting one another again. Sasuke had worked so hard, had trained and studied and endured Orochimaru's harsh treatment in order to be able to defeat Itachi.

How in the names of the gods had Naruto beaten him?!

The brunette didn't remember. Naruto refused to tell him about their fight and much of the details were hazy in Sasuke's mind, lost beyond occasional flashes that appeared in his dreams. He knew that Naruto had beaten him quite soundly and had subsequently returned with the brunette slung over his shoulder. Shortly there after, Sasuke had had to deal with the traumatic experience of Kakashi and Tsunade sealing Orochimaru's curse seal, forcing the power it contained dormant and impotent. Sasuke had been under house arrest ever since, constantly being monitored by the Ambu or other agents that reported his behavior to Ibiki, Konoha's resident interrogation expert, who was in charge of the Uchiha's reintegration to village life. As for the blonde, after he had healed up Tsunade had kept Naruto busy with missions, leaving no time to visit the confined Sasuke.

All those months of wanting to see the blonde, of repressing the loneliness due to the restrictions placed on him had been nearly unbearable. Forced to remain in the house where his family had been slaughtered, unable to get away from the memories conjured by the familiar sights and smells, Sasuke had begun to pray for someone to come and talk to him. He'd wished for Naruto specifically since the blonde's loud, obnoxious personality would be able to make him forget about the awful events weighing heavily upon Sasuke's mind. If Naruto would come over then they could spar or talk or yell and ultimately begin to repair the giant rift between them.

During all those months, Naruto had never once stopped by.

Sasuke's mood had not improved at all and he been well on his way to developing a massive case of paranoia and depression right up until the day Tsunade had finally released him from his punishment. The guards watching him were called off and he was now free to come and go as he wished so long as he remained inside the village. The issue about being reinstated as a ninja was still up in the air but he would be allowed to carry basic ninja equipment on the stipulation that he would fork the weaponry over if an Ambu requested it; apparently, Tsunade wasn't naive enough to believe that his presence wouldn't cause some sort of disturbance and for that he thought better of her. This had all happened only a few days ago, just before the encounter that had ended with his current predicament.

It figured that the moment he gave into his restlessness and desire to see the blonde, something humiliating would happen to him.

"Aw, you okay little one?" Kyuubi asked gently as she reached down and picked up his hunching form seconds later. The demon rested the tabby against Naruto's chest, able to hold Sasuke there with one hand, acutely forcing the Uchiha to consciously acknowledge their vast difference in size. Oddly, this bothered Sasuke to no end- he'd hit puberty first, damn it, so he should be bigger than the blonde! But then gentle fingers began petting him behind his ears, began carefully inspecting his still healing shoulder as they stroked his back, and Sasuke felt the profuse ache in his chest lessen, a feeling of warmth taking its place.

He felt Naruto's body shift as the blonde sat down on the floor and, abruptly, Sasuke's feeling of contentment was intensified as Kyuubi also picked up Neji and Hinata, settling the other kittens on either side of the Uchiha. The three of them were cuddled and cooed over by the fox, tickled and stroked until all three of the teens-turned-kittens found themselves purring in one large furry pile. When the fox pulled its free hand away, each kitten was kissed on the head whether they wanted it or not.

Though he hadn't thought it possible while sandwiched between two equally embarrassed Hyuugas and Naruto's heart beating reassuringly near his ear, Sasuke felt inexplicably peaceful.

So much so in fact that even the noisy arrival of another large bird of prey couldn't ruin it.

* * *

More's Moment: And there we are another chapter done. I know you had to wait for it but I hope you find it worth it. I know you've had to wait and there is nothing I'd like better than to just sit and write but, like most fan fiction authors, day to day life must come first. Sad but true. As such, there may be a slight delay in the Styx chapter scheduled for this week and the new chapter for Bared Naked probably won't be out for another two weeks.

Teaser: Kyuubi's out of the village and into the woods where she'll encounter Kitsunes, Itachi, Kisame and…

On a side note, thanks to everyone who offered up a name already! The fruits of your labors will come into play shortly. For everyone else, I know it's annoying but I still am looking for name suggestions for characters, especially for everyone's favorite Akatsuki members. Now's the chance to take vengeance or simply have little fun with them- the more ironic the better and preferred though puns or play on words will be equally welcomed. Tired of my whining? If you know an excellent Japanese name translator (or even a Japanese translator) website, please tell me and I'll stop. I need at least eight. This is not to imply that I am holding the next chapter hostage but I will warn you that the more name suggestions I get, the more the personalities involved take shape, the faster the chapter takes cohesive form.

Happy tales everyone!


	10. Chapter 9: Walk on the Wild Side

Chapter Nine: Walk on the Wild Side

Kyuubi leapt from branch to branch at lightning speed, ricocheting off trees recklessly as she made her way through the forest surrounding The Village Hidden in the Leaves. Occasionally she would miss her target but before she could plunge to her and kit's doom, another branch would simply appear in her path, allowing her to grab on and swing back up to her original altitude. The resulting free fall from these little detours did little to soothe the restless kittens safely ensconced within the bag strapped to her chest.

Her mood was sour, making it hard to keep her temper in check as she traveled. She wanted to destroy something, wanted to sink her claws into warm flesh and tare and rend until nothing living remained anywhere in her vicinity. Damn this insignificant village and its moronic occupants! Damn the Sand siblings! Damn everyone! She realized she was screaming it over and over, realized that she had stopped heedlessly throwing herself through the woods to bang her fists down repeatedly on the tree branch under her knees.

How could they do this?

Damn them- damn them all!

* * *

_"You're Omai-toh are outside!" Kyuubi finished reading the note in her hands and teased the clone, smirking as the clone's cheeks turned bright crimson. "They want to take care of you, to fulfill their obligations as your..."_

_"They're not! I mean- they can't! I mean…" The clone floundered, momentarily turning its back on the large male falcon digging it's talons into the window sill. "I'm human! I can't have Omai-toh!"_

_Kyuubi had stared at the clone, her grin vanishing. "You sound as prejudicial as the rest of this village." She said sternly, glaring at the blonde until it looked down at the floor. Sure that it was sufficiently cowed, she continued. "You have human Omai-toh, you just choose not to make them officially yours."_

_"Leave Neji, Hinata and Sasuke out of this." The clone growled, glaring right back at her. "They're not my Omai-toh or my girlfriend or my boyfriends for that matter! They're my… friends…" The clone's shoulders slumped for a second and its defiant expression crumpled into something far more heartbreaking. But then it bounced back, expression becoming stern so fast that Kyuubi was left to wonder if she had imagined the previous one. "Gaara's coming so there's no need for them to feel obligated about anything!"_

_The fox blinked at him mildly. "You should ask him to be one of your Omai-toh. I'm sure he won't object, in fact I think he'd be quite grateful! The others like him too and get along with him...Well, Sasuke doesn't but he's not worth your time…"_

_"KYUUBI!" The clone nearly shrieked, remembering at the last second to merely hiss the word at her. "No, damn it! How many times do I have to say this? They're not my Omai-toh! I don't have Omai-toh! I__** can't**__ have Omai-toh!"_

_"You__** can **__have Omai-toh, this village just makes you think you can't have any." The fox said quietly, petting the kittens again. The trio had roused and was now crawling up to take seats on her shoulders as they looked back and forth between the two 'humans.' "We should leave this place permanently." She added absently as she began picking the items she would need while out and about up off the floor where they lay scattered. _

_The clone shot her a sad look over its shoulder as it greeted the patient falcon and untied the note tied to the bird's leg. "I think it's a bit too late for that, don't you?"_

_The blonde was right but a fox could still dream._

* * *

The stinging in her barrowed hands helped ground Kyuubi and get her back on track. After taking a brief moment to work her swelling fingers, the fox turned in the direction of the disturbance she had been following and continued on.

* * *

_"You have to go!" The clone said suddenly, startling both the fox and the kittens. Eyebrows in her hair, Kyuubi looked up from buckling her small pack and spotted the crumbled remains of the note by the clone's feet. When she didn't move, the clone ran past her into the bedroom._

_The sounds of hurried footsteps and crashing reached her ears shortly there after._

_"What the hell are you doing?!" Kyuubi asked, shooing the kittens from her shoulders and rising. "Weren't you just telling me how much I should-"_

_"I was wrong!" The clone said, panting as it returned to the main room, a larger pack dangling from its hand. It was Naruto's mission backpack, the one he took when he expected to be gone for a lengthy amount of time, and the clone seemed to have packed it full. "You need to get out of the village and to the others!"_

_Kyuubi frowned as the bag was thrust into her hands. "Gaara is coming..."_

_It was then that the clone turned to her, frantic, its fear for her evident. "He isn't! We're on our own again." It had grabbed her then by the upper arms, expression solemn. "No one is coming."_

_They had been abandoned._

* * *

With one last leap, Kyuubi cleared the tree line and stumbled to a stop on the uneven forest floor. Warily, she scanned the area, unconsciously rolling her shoulders to resettle the straps of both the heavy pack on her back she wore and of the second smaller bag strapped securely to her front. Inside the latter were the kittens, the trio moving around anxiously, and Kyuubi absently reached a hand up to pet them through the fabric of their carrier. 

In a decidedly unwise decision, the fox had not headed directly for the kitsunes waiting for her. Once she had left the village via leaping over their beloved protective wall –something she hated with a passion- Kyuubi had made a beeline for another target several miles away. It was stupid, surely, but with her anger mounting over Garaa's betrayal, the fox needed something to destroy before she exploded and did something both she and Naruto would regret. Kneeling beside one of the larger trees, Kyuubi let the backpack slide to the floor behind her as she undid the straps securing the kitten's carrying case and set it gently next to one of the tree roots.

As soon as she had loosened the tie keeping the top shut, three furry heads popped up and began nosing themselves free. The blue kitten was in such a hurry that she actually leaned too far out and tumbled out of the bag before the fox could reach out and grab her. As she picked the kitten up and dusted the forest debris from its fur, Kyuubi couldn't help but smile at the feline, a smile that widened once the kitten noticed the fox's expression and began purring loudly. Once all three kittens were out of their carrier and safely on the forest floor, Kyuubi gave them each a brief cuddle before biting her thumb hard enough to draw blood.

"Listen," Kyuubi said, pressing her bleeding thumb to each kitten's forehead and leaving a crimson strain, her other hand hovering close by in case they tried to run. "Please don't lick this off. It's messy but it'll protect you when I can't. Now, please stay here until I come get you."

Licking the bleeding digit clean, Kyuubi stood and walked several meters away heading deeper into the wooded area. When she believed that there was sufficient distance between herself and her charges, she kicked off her sandals and pulled off her bandana, letting her feet be caressed by the cool grass while the wind ruffled her blonde mop, pulling loose hairs free to blow away. She ran a hand through her hair and watched strands fall from her fingers mournfully, knowing that in a few days most of it would be gone and that whatever remained would exist only in scraggly tufts.

Kyuubi felt her lower lip tremble as she looked at the forest floor.

Kit was going to be in so much pain, _so_ much pain, and now he was being forced to go through it alone. She had thought such days were long gone once the Sand siblings had gotten involved but she had been wrong and her bitterness and anger over their betrayal fanned the flames of her rage. The kittens were safe in their hiding place, protected by a crude but effective spell that would redirect her attacks should any of them come within striking distance of the felines. Kyuubi could let loose without fear, could give into the desire to destroy all over the target headed right for her. She felt the pure heady pleasure that only came from imminent violence bubble through her barrowed form's veins.

Someone was going to pay for this! Someone was going to pay for Naruto's pain, for Kyuubi's pain. Someone was **dead** and, as two individuals wearing familiar cloaks rounded a corner two hundred yards ahead, running as if Hell itself were right behind them, the fox just smiled in surprised amusement.

Kyuubi absently wondered briefly if Itachi and Kisame had rockets hidden under their Akatsuki cloaks, they were going so fast. Well, she amended, the missing Mist ninja could run at any rate- the missing Uchiha was just being dragged along beside the taller of the pair. Inhaling, Kyuubi detected a distinctive scent and frowned as she watched the slumping brunette be picked up and slung over a blue-skinned shoulder.

Then the thing chasing the pair came into view and the fox forgot about them as she began her attack. Since neither of the Akatsuki members would be relevant to the fight, she removed them from the battlefield with a thought, watching as the tree Kisame was running past suddenly lashed out with its branches. The attack caught the former Mist ninja in the right side and sent him hurtling several meters to the left into another tree where vines wrapped around the slumped pair. Unsurprisingly, Kisame had automatically shielded Itachi from damage, using his own body to protect the fallen Uchiha and thus making them both easy targets for the rope-like plants that now held them hostage.

Kyuubi shrugged. She would see to them later- right now she had to deal with the beast heading for her.

The fox sneered then wrinkled her nose in disgust as the monstrosity flowed in and out of vision, its shape appearing and disappearing with the shift in light dappling the forest floor. The overall shape remained obscured but Kyuubi estimated its height at around forty feet and the fox knew from past experience that the animal was not to be taken lightly. Four stories of hulking, growling muscle walked toward her on four feet, the beast's wide strides eating up the distance between them in only minutes.

A Hound was loose. Some stupid moron had actually found a gateway and let loose a Hound. She sighed tiredly and shook her head over the depths of human foolishness. Really, it never ceased to amaze her- you would think they would learn after a while! The world had been razed to ash twice already that she knew of but that apparently was not enough of a record.

The term 'Hounds of Hell' was more than an expression. They were, in fact, real hounds that served perhaps not a hell as humans would think, but a very nasty place that wasn't too different than the imagined home of the damned. There were gates- doorways- scattered globally that kept that place sealed away and separate from the normal world but, as with any portal, there were always cracks and gaps that some of the less powerful beings of that other place could crawl through to crossover especially if they were **let** through by some power hungry twit.

So, of course, someone had released a Hound and now Kyuubi, as was her job description, had to deal with it.

Typical.

"Alright, Motherfucker!" Kyuubi screamed, clapping her hands together and holding them there as she lifted her foot high in the air then slammed it into the ground. "It's time to send your sorry ass home to your Master!"

As soon as her foot hit the grass the ground began to rumble, the vibration gaining in intensity until several tons of solid rock had been disgorged a few feet in front of Kyuubi. In the blink of an eye the mass broke apart into smaller, lethally sharp-edged chunks and the possessed blonde held her hands toward it, palms out as if in a 'stop' motion.

Wind gusted, gently at first but then with more force as she summoned it and bent it to her will. The air flowed over Naruto's form, caressing his body like a lost lover, tickling, teasing as it gathered before his tan hands. This was not the same as forming a Rasengan attack- Kyuubi did not force the air to submit with her chakra as Naruto had to do in order to form the sphere- it was much simpler. Kitsunes were part of the forest and, to an extent, the Nine tails could command the forest as a swordsman could command their blade. Kyuubi called to the wind as she had to the pile of rock beginning to levitate in front of her and they answered as extensions of her will.

"Attack." Kyuubi said quietly, lip curling up as she sneered, adrenaline singing through her veins like a drug.

The jagged pile of stone rose higher into the air until there was a large wall hovering in front of her. For maximum damage, Kyuubi made them spin before sending them hurtling forward toward their target, watching warily as the projectiles flew straight and true, smashing through trees but not slowing in the slightest.

The Hound screamed, shrieking as it was pelted and stabbed, as the sharp corners buried themselves deep inside it's flesh, and Kyuubi couldn't help the satisfied sigh that escaped her lips as she listened to the awful cacophony. Eyes closed in appreciation, the fox tilted its head back and continued to listen for several more moments, sharp ears automatically tracking the wounded beast's progress as it charged her. Then she smiled, eyes opening slowly as she sucked in a breath and answered the Hound's challenge with one of her own.

She screamed her defiance, her body already in motion, charging forward as she flexed her hands, pleased with the chakra crafted claws now encasing them. Kyuubi launched herself into the trees, jumping from branch to branch at high speed as she raced to meet the Hound, anticipation of the kill already flooding her body as the stench of acrid Hound blood filled her nose and burned her lungs.

Heavily wounded, sensing its attacker approaching, the Hound roared again, exposing monstrous teeth, the smallest of which was larger than Naruto was tall. Its eyes, previously grey, were now as crimson as the sheen of the liquid oozing out of its wounds, the barbell shaped pupils contracted into slits. It was breathing heavily, putrid breath fanning out in moist puffs that scalded the dying grass under it and the fox inwardly cheered because her first attack had apparently hit a vital spot. Enraged, it drooled excessively, the pools of saliva eating into the ground, making it sizzle, and Kyuubi knew from personal experience that the jell-like substance was not acid but extremely basic. Even after all these years, the fox demon wasn't sure which was worse since both would eat through bone and flesh with equal proficiency and pain.

Knowing that Naruto's body would not be able to handle a drawn out battle, the fox struck hard and fast. Using a simple distraction tactic, Kyuubi paused for several heart beats on a large branch in front of the Hound, deliberately making herself an easy target. For good measure, she let her expression become pained and clutched her chest, falling to one knee. _I'm weak, injured. I'm no match for you… _The demon thought, milking her 'wounded bird' act for all she was worth. If a Hound was angry enough and injured enough, then it would charge blindly after its attacker but this one was slowing its charge, hesitating as it watched her warily, much to Kyuubi's irritation. _Come on, Stupid, I don't have all frickin' day!_

And then she paused as one of the chakra signatures in her vicinity flared weakly before beginning to diminish, the demon's eyes widening as she recognized it with a curse. Knowing that more people than Kit would have a fit if she let the person die, Kyuubi inwardly sighed as she debated the best way to deal with this new problem. _As if the Hound wasn't-_

The beast struck. Taking advantage of her lapse in focus, the Hound lashed out with one massive paw, bringing it down on the branch she stood on and shattered it. The move forced her to jump to another perch for safety but, as she launched herself into the air, she found massive jaws blocking her way.

_Oh shit._ Even in her head the comment was spoken in a small voice, as if to underscore the simple exclamation and the given circumstances.

Kyuubi tore off her coat and threw it at the teeth about to impale her, watching as the blade like constructions slammed shut upon the fabric. It bought her the time she needed and as she let herself free-fell down, she unsheathed her claws, angling her body into position.

Oblivious to its error, the Hound was shaking its prize in a frenzied fashion above its head, baring its throat, and the fox smirked as, seconds later, she swiped her claws at the arteries so nicely being presented. Once again summoning the air to surround her hands, Kyuubi formed it into arched blades so that when she attacked she not only severed the precious blood supply to the Hound's brain, but the beast's neck completely. The flesh split, opening horizontally like a second mouth as the weight of the Hound's head falling backward onto its shoulders pulled it apart, and blood poured from the wound like a miniature ocean.

Kyuubi frowned, unhappy as she looked over all the torn muscle and tendons. An over-stretched ligament snapped like a rubber band and beyond that the fox could clearly see the Hound's severed spinal column but still the head and body remained connected. _Damn it- I was hoping to sever the head completely._ She sighed. _It's messy but it will have to do._

Unable to enjoy her victory and pissed over that fact, the fox back-flipped in mid-air, somersaulting to land safely on the ground as blood sprayed over everything in the vicinity. Kyuubi quickly found herself drenched in the crimson liquid as she walked angrily over to the tree whose vines held the two Akatsuki members bound and gagged.

As the pair was lowered to her level, the fox shook her hands until they were reasonably clean, using her fingers to clear her eyes and nose. Naruto's normally sunshine yellow hair was now as red as Gaara's, his tan skin almost black from the red coating it. Ugh! Kit's body looked as if it had been dipped upside down in a bucket of red paint except this particular hue could never come from a bottle.

She wanted- no, needed!- a bath and even as she thought it, several yard away the ground began to form a shallow depression that quickly began to fill with water as the clear liquid burbled up from an underground source.

"Well!" Kyuubi said loudly once she was eye to eye with Kisame, the ex-Mist ninja hanging upside down from his constraints. "Fancy meeting you here!"

She licked her thumb clean, turned her head to spit the foul Hound's blood out of her mouth, and bit the newly cleaned digit until it bled freely. Shooting a smirk at Kisame as she tore off his forehead protector, she caught his angry pale blue eyes and maintained the contact as she pressed the pad of her bleeding thumb against the blue skinned forehead.

"Now, now, Kisa-chan!" Kyuubi admonished quietly as he began to struggle, consequently smearing the lines she was trying to carefully draw over his brow. She paused in annoyance and roughly grabbed a handful of his short spiky hair, using her handhold to pull his head back sharply while forcing it upward. She was perilously close to breaking his neck, she knew, and though it would have been a minor irritation to her plans, the thought of killing him bothered her for no longer than a second. She made sure to let this show in her eyes, let him see how much she didn't care, and she growled at him.

"If you don't hold still, I can't draw the seal correctly." She tightened her grip on his hair and shook him slightly, leaning down so that her displeased expression dominated his vision. "You don't want me to mess this up, Kisa-chan. I don't mind a blank slate, really, but I believe you would have a slight aversion to me frying your brain."

He glared up at her defiantly and she watched his jaw work as he attempted to use his sharp teeth and chew though the vines covering his mouth. He wiggled, straining against his bonds.

"Itachi, your partner, is dying, you know." Kyuubi said conversationally, letting him go and watching him swing back and forth. She began to walk toward her new bathing area, pulling off her sticky shirt. "Until I am through with you, I cannot see to him. You can feel him slipping away just as I. You can't save him but I can, and I will, once you stop being a pain in the ass."

Concentrating on undoing her pants, she heard the ex-Mist ninja make frustrated sounds as he again tried to break free and failed, and she took her time as she shimmied out of the ruined clothing. Looking over at the Hound's corpse, she pouted, mourning the loss of her brand new jacket. It wasn't until she began to walk away, intent on retrieving the article, that Kisame finally slumped in defeat, indicating his submission.

Smiling, Kyuubi waltzed back over to him.

When she was finished inscribing the design she had started previously on the blue skinned brow, Kyuubi stepped over to Itachi's unmoving upside-down form, directing the vines to slowly lower the unresponsive brunette and place him gently on the ground.

The missing Uchiha -well, the _elder_ missing Uchiha now- didn't react to her presence at all, even when she knelt beside him and began to open his cloak. Kyuubi leaned forward over his chest and inhaled deeply, frowning at the exposed skin, at the cloying reek of burned flesh and coppery sweetness that slid over her tongue and coated the back of her throat. There was something else too, something sickly sweet and bitter, a scent with a texture that was almost tar-like as it slid over her senses.

The scent of deep rooted sickness.

"Oh, Ita." Kyuubi murmured mournfully, discarding the red and black Akatsuki cloak as well as his forehead protector by tossing it carelessly over her shoulder. "What has become of you in your quest for vengeance?"

She heard a quiet mew from beside her knee and tore her gaze away from the red ruin of Itachi's chest to look down at the kitten, reaching down to pet the blue female automatically. The fox glanced around for the other kittens and found the two males fighting several feet away, rolling around as they hissed and bit one another. Of the pair, the tabby suddenly seemed to be the most wild, frenzied as he tried to approach Kyuubi and her captive only to be literally smacked away by the brown kitten.

The fox frowned at their behavior but didn't have time to dwell as Itachi's remaining life began to slip away. She felt his chakra flare weakly again, heard and saw his heart hesitate through the hole in his chest and knew that chakra healing wouldn't be enough to repair the damage. Flexing her bleeding thumb, she quickly drew a seal over Itachi's pale exposed brow much as she had with Kisame though this one extended down the Uchiha's temples and around his eyes. After placing a drop of blood on each closed eyelid, Kyuubi slit her wrist and flexed to make more blood flow.

"This might sting a bit." Kyuubi told him before shoving the crimson coated fist into the mess of his chest while her other hand splayed over the ground next to her.

Shifting her legs, the fox sat down as if she was preparing to meditate. Kyuubi took a deep breathe, held it, and released it as she began to focus both her chakra and the magic at her disposal. Of the two, the latter was what required the most concentration- she had been long out of practice in handling such involving healing even before she had died and knew that if she wasn't careful she could just as easily blow Itachi to pieces as heal him into a whole.

Reaching out with her magic, Kyuubi thought of the earth below her, feeling it beneath her hand like some great slumbering animal that stirred at her metaphysical touch. She called to it as one would a favored pet, feeling the energy rise, eager to help now that it had been summoned. It flowed upward through the depths of all that stone and dirt, gaining momentum as it did so until it simply burst from the ground like some invisible beast that only the fox could sense. The power rubbed against Naruto's bloodstained skin, causing goose bumps to appear in its wake, the feeling making Kyuubi shudder pleasantly at the fur-like sensation.

Distantly she heard Kisame fall and curse as she released him, dropping the missing Mist ninja unceremoniously on his head.

The fox felt calm, more secure and confident in her abilities as the earth's power continued to rub itself against her skin in greeting, and continued to call forth the other needed elements. She thought of water and instantly she could smell it, pure and clean in her nose, a slightly heavy cool presence against her skin like the air before a rainfall. Far away, as if a dream, she heard the ocean, felt the salty liquid's advancement and recession as clearly as she felt the blood moving through Naruto's body with every beat of his heart. The fox summoned water and the small depression she had been planning to use for bathing smoothed out, spilling its contents over the ground to pool around both her body and Itachi's. The liquid lapped at them, lapped at the kittens near them, lapped at Kisame's feet until the ninja moved out of range, and Kyuubi could feel other things moving in that clear substance. Just as the energy of the earth had a form, so did water and the sensation of smooth slicked rubber teased against her wet skin, soft enough not to hurt, but strong enough to cause the dried blood coating Naruto to slough off.

Wind came next and answered like the others, ghosting over her skin and chilling it, a barely there presence but one not to be taken lightly. The air turned crisp, not cold, but crisp as it filled her lungs, as it tousled the thinning blond hair. Unlike the earth or water, the wind energy did not manifest in the form of an animal; instead the fox felt it like one would hear distant joyous laughter or soft chimes. It caressed tanned skin as a lover would, light and gentle but firm and hard all at the same time. Wind wanted you to know it was there, all the time, wanted you to know that it had the potential to either rip you to pieces or be soft enough to simply help you clear your head. Kyuubi thought gentle thoughts and called that dynamic energy, summoned it, quite relieved when it came and merely swirled about her body, occasionally reaching out to touch her and the other elements.

Last came fire, the most dangerous element in Kyuubi's opinion, though usually the most useful. Though you could not hold a conversation with a flame you could bet that, if you pissed it off enough, fire would most assuredly let you know that you had angered it. With a healthy amount of wariness, the fox thought of fire and instantly the air around them all became stiflingly hot. It was as if she stood before the open door of a gigantic blast furnace working at full capacity. It was not simply hot air- it was a veritable **wall** of heat that scorched her lungs as she breathed. Kyuubi felt herself burning, her body shriveling as its precious moisture was stolen away, but the fox forced herself to push past that god-awful heat to the molten core of the planet itself and draw out a dollop of that power. She reeled it inside her, swallowed it down and felt it burn in her body like a great flame ready to consume her if she mishandled it.

Kyuubi fought down the urge to pant harshly, forced herself to keep her breathing even though it was very hard not to let her thoughts narrow down to that burning pain. Her concentration kept slipping.

She felt fur rub against her, fur both real and not real, the latter making goose bumps breakout over her skin. She heard soft chimes and distant laughter, the quiet sounds seeming to swell in her ears as her cheeks were brushed with feather light strokes. Liquid washed over her, cooling her down and helping to draw the heat away safely as it replenished her strength. Kyuubi felt her concentration steady as the dreadful heat receded into a small manageable fire- if one could call a bonfire in your stomach 'small' or 'manageable.' She smiled and thanked the other elements for the aid before proceeding.

She took another breath and held it, visualizing what she wanted to happen as the fist inside Itachi's chest relaxed, the fingers splaying out and moving until they gripped the Uchiha's failing heart. The fox felt the brunette's body arch reflexively, instinctively trying to get away from the foreign sensation even as he lay unconscious. Kyuubi ignored the movement and began directing the energies at her command.

Connected as they were currently, Itachi belonged to her and his wound was now her wound. She felt his heart stop completely but did not let herself be bothered by it, already converting her demonic chakra into healing energy and pumping it into his body through her fingertips. The damaged organ needed to rest anyway while she worked and the fox felt a slight heaviness envelop her as Naruto's body began to work for both humans. Every time the blonde's heart beat, it pushed blood through both bodies. Every time Naruto's body breathed, it drew breath for two. With the exception of the two kittens still fighting nearby, all was silent as she worked, and slowly, oh so slowly, Itachi's body began to close around her wrist.

* * *

"Kisame!" She called, eyes shut, clearly sensing the angry missing ninja as he warily drew closer, his sword already drawn. The larger male oozed malicious intent, his anger permeating the air around him, wafting ahead of his body and pricking against her skin like hot pins. He wanted to hurt her- wanted to hurt her so badly she could **taste** it in the air- but knew he couldn't because Itachi's life was in her hands. 

_Perfect._

She smiled and there was nothing pleasant in the action. She raised her face in his direction, showing him her smile as she opened her eyes and looked at him coyly. She let her voice purr as she spoke, her accent thickening as a hint of something ominous entered her voice- something that spoke directly to the violence Kisame so enjoyed practicing and held a world of promise.

"I have a mission for you." The fox said simply then proceeded to explain it very quietly to him.

When she was through, it was the blue-skinned man who was smiling.

* * *

"Nine Tails, Chosen by the Deity Inari, Living Seal of the Final Gate, Keeper of All That Exists From Beginning to End…" 

The list continued on, the tone respectful throughout- somebody wanted something from her pretty badly if they were willing to list all her titles. She kept her eyes closed, her breathing even as she continued to work on the brunette's body. It figured- just as she managed to get rid of her noisy distractions, another popped up. Typical. Maybe if she ignored the intruders, they'd all go away…?

"…Recorder of Stories and Memory, Commander of the Elements, Embodiment of Ancient Magic Come Alive-"

"Shut up already!" Kyuubi commanded, flexing her hands automatically in irritation. Beside her, Itachi's still healing body twitched sharply as the grip around his heart became a little too tight. "You may have time to waste reciting all of my names but I do not!" She gestured at the fist lodged deeply inside the Uchiha as her eyes flew open to pin the visitors with a very unfriendly glare. "What do you want?"

_Oh fuck._ Though her face remained impassive, the fox grimaced inwardly as she recognized just who was kneeling a respectable distance in front of her. _Don't say it. Don't say it! Just get lost and don't request a-_

One of the kitsunes raised her head and blinked large pale green eyes nervously. A tongue flicked out to wet her human shaped lips. "We have come to request an audience with you, oh great and wise Kyuubi."

_Inari curse it! _"You have caught me at a most inopportune moment, Moriko, Lady of the Land That Swishes in the Breeze." Kyuubi told the eight tailed kitsune and, though her words were formal, she didn't bother to hide the annoyance in her voice.

Moriko was dressed in green, the color going well with her human form's overall brown pigmentation. Brown skin, not just deeply tanned but the color of top soil in the sunlight, combined with hair the same shade of freshly turned earth, truly marked Moriko as a forest child and when she flattened herself to the ground to take an extremely submissive stance, she very nearly disappeared into the ground she knelt on. Kyuubi was actually surprised to see the dark female since she was known not to enjoy the spotlight. Beside Moriko, the other kitsunes also became prone as they showed reverence.

But they weren't leaving.

"Selene, Lady of the Land that Ebbs and Flows with the Phases of the Moon, what brings you to my lands without proper notification?" Kyuubi asked, turning her barrowed blue-eyed gaze upon the only other feminine body in the small group. There were only five of them, the fox noted sadly; five rulers where not long ago had existed thirty.

Damn the humans- the kitsune race was on the brink of extinction.

Selene raised her dark head and blinked large dark eyes. Unique among the kitsunes, Selene was the only completely black fox when fully in her natural form. From nose to tail, her fur was as dark as the night itself. In contrast to her darker features, in her human form Selene was as pale skinned as the moon itself, a beauty carved of light and shadow that seemed to glow faintly in the sunlight.

Kyuubi knew from personal experience that all of Selene's human skin would appear to glow at night, surrounded by darkness, just like a full moon at night.

No wonder the Greeks had named her the Goddess of the Moon.

Just like every time when meeting Selene, Kyuubi caught her breath and swallowed hard as the other female gazed at her.

"I know that you loath formal speech," Selene said, briefly bowing her head respectfully at Kyuubi. As they faced one another, her expression remained grave and carefully blank but the nine tails could swear that the pale skinned female was fighting not to smile. "So I will not waste your time with pretty words."

With Kyuubi's nodded permission, the kitsunes before her sat back on their haunches, tails flaring behind them as they settled, grim faced.

"Great and powerful Kyuubi," Selene intoned and part of the nine tails noted that the other's voice was still as melodic and pleasant as Kyuubi remembered. "We have come seeking your protection."

For several moments, silence reigned thick and ominous between the two parties as they stared at one another.

"Are you asking me to do what I think you are?" The nine tails breathed at last. She froze in place, body absolutely still as she stared at them, incredulous. Beside her, Itachi's body twitched as his consciousness woke and automatically began trying to force her influence out of his body. She poked his heart with her thumb, a quick firm press that made his motions cease immediately. He lay still, listening, and Kyuubi promptly resumed ignoring him.

"Nine tails." One of the kitsunes, a chestnut haired male began, his voice rough and painful to listen to- as if he had eaten ground glass. Kyuubi thought his name was Kuri but wasn't sure. "We request safe passage for our Families into your lands without the threat of war. The humans have begun tampering with the seals- one village has even opened a gate! The Hounds are loose, as you have already seen, and there are too many for our numbers to fight! We face extinction if we do not act-"

"We ask that you use your powers and open the Fortress." Selene interrupted, her soft voice cleanly drowning out the louder male's. She put a hand on his forearm to stall any other comments then looked at Kyuubi. "I beseech you not as a Lady but as a friend and former lover! Save us! Save your people! Do not abandon us again!"

They were so afraid, so very afraid. Kyuubi could smell it like some sour wine, could feel it try and wash over her. It tried to drag her down, tried to dominate her will, and if she had been in her actual kitsune body, she may well have caved into their demands. But as it was, though her spirit was in control of this body, it was still Naruto's body. His very human body.

The ground began to rumble beneath them, the vibration becoming more and more pronounced as Kyuubi became angry.

"'Abandon' you? _**Abandon you?!**_" The nine tails growled, her fury lashing out and causing the ground nearby to crack open and vent scalding steam. "After being blessed by Inari, my kits were slaughtered and I sought vengeance on those responsible as was my right! Never once did I 'abandon' you!"

"You attacked Konoha!" Selene screamed, coming to her feet in a blurred rush, the air beginning to shimmer around her, taking on a vague liquid quality. "You knew better than anyone that they were not to be trusted! You believed in the fairness of their new leader and look what happened!" The black haired kitsune shouted, tears streaming down her reddened cheeks. "When you were sealed so was your power! You left us with no leader and your death doomed us all!"

The good thing about being a ruler was that you could actually do something- anything really- to the person pissing you off for no other reason then that they were making you angry. Selene- for all her beauty, for all the love and respect that Kyuubi had for her in the past and now in the present- was pissing the nine tails off. In fact, all of the visiting kitsunes had violated protocol in coming here without asking her permission before hand as they were supposed to. She was well within her rights to declare their actions a war-time invasion and slaughter them all.

At that moment, Kyuubi was angry enough to do it.

"Be gone from my lands." She ordered, forcing all that rage back down into her core, compacting it tightly into a small ball that sat like a hot lump of lead in her stomach. She swallowed her anger and the ground stilled. Proud of her restraint, Kyuubi continued to speak. "Leave my territory immediately or I will give orders to my Family to have you killed on sight."

"An empty threat." Atarah scoffed, snorting softly as he folded his arms over his chest. Kyuubi felt the fire magic in her gut flare from her sense of indignation. She remembered meeting the male when he was but a kit hundreds of years ago and again when he gained leadership over the Lands that Lie Barren but Plentiful Underground. It seemed that Atarah's crown and name had gone straight to his head.

"You can not issue orders to people who are no longer around." The red haired male continued, completely insolent and not caring one iota- not even when the sky over head flashed with lightning as Kyuubi's anger came back full force.

"Get. Out." Kyuubi hissed, the ground rumbling violently. With a pronounced sucking, wet sound, she pulled her hand out of Itachi's chest and shook the stiff fingers out. Her anger was making her lose her focus on the elemental magic and the situation could rapidly degenerate into something messy if she completely lost control- after all her hard work healing him, it would be a shame to inadvertently set the Uchiha on fire. Though they were now physically separated, they remained mystically connected, and Kyuubi acutely felt the drain of his still healing body. She felt weak but forced herself to remain focused on the kitsunes in front of her and in reining in her magic before she completely lost control.

Atarah sneered. "They lost confidence in you and fled like rats deserting a sinking ship..."

_It's not true! They wouldn't leave without telling me!_ She tried to calm the panic clawing at her heart and failed.

"I think you sound like a certain snake I've met!" A cheerful voice rang out seconds before a large form fell out of the sky to land gracefully on the ground between the two groups. Two more thumps followed a heartbeat later as two more kitsunes joined the gathering, making sure to land closer to Kyuubi than to the others.

Kyuubi blinked and held back a relieved smile at the timely arrival of Naruto's _omai-toh_. All three of them were dressed as members of The Village Hidden in the Leaves AMBU squad, the distinctive white masks pushed up and revealing their faces.

"You hiss poison quite well!" Eiki continued, arching blond brows that disappeared into the short dark hair nearly completely hidden under his AMBU mask. Pale skinned, tall and lithely muscled, Eiki didn't look like much of a fighter, eight tails aside, and Kyuubi had expressed serious doubt about the potential mate, unconvinced that the younger kitsune would take his duties seriously or be able to protect Naruto should the need arise. She supposed that if this meeting broke out into a brawl then she would be able to either confirm her opinion or refute it. Warm burnt orange eyes blinked innocently but the grin below them was more a bearing of teeth than any type of smile that the nine tails had ever seen. "Are you sure you're a fox, my fanged friend? What do you say Kazuki?"

"I think that they should pack the fuck up and get lost." The kitsune known as Kazuki said bluntly. The darkness of his outfit seemed to enhance his physical features rather than dim them, drawing attention to his caramel colored skin and olive colored eyes. His hair was dark brown with blond highlights randomly sprinkled in. Normally he let the heavy mass flow around his shoulders as it wished but today he had tied it back into a low ponytail, the end of which touched the middle of his back several inches shy of the eight tails nestled at the base of his spine. Instead of being slim and willowy like most kitsunes in human form, his frame was large and muscular though not overtly so. Kazuki was big, yes, but strangely he usually gave the impression of being quite small since he was so mild-mannered and gentle. Plain spoken, unobtrusive and quiet, unless he was angry- like now- the kitsune didn't use his size to intimidate.

"I love it when you're blunt!" There was a short bark of noise as Shinju, the third kitsune, laughed and swished eight long tails the same color as the silver hair he flipped back over his shoulder. Much like Eiki, the pearlesque kistune didn't look much like a fighter but Kyuubi had seen Shinju work under pressure. When everything was going to hell in a hand basket, you wanted Shinju on your side- he could be extremely…sensible when he wasn't indulging his sense of humor. He took his duties as an _omai-toh_ very seriously but usually ended up being hamstrung by Naruto on many issues. Shinju loved the little blond despite this and made sure to follow all of Naruto's orders to the letter no matter how much trouble it caused for himself. Predictably, the fox winked one lavender eye at Kyuubi cheekily as he wandered over, tall body falling easily down to all fours. He pressed his forehead to the ground in a show of abasement to her.

"Greetings beloved Tenko, Celestial Fox Divinely Chosen. Greetings Naruto, Son of the Forth Hokage and beloved vessel of our Tenko. It is a pleasure to see you both once again." Keeping his position, Shinju slowly held out a hand, letting it hang in the air until she took it and squeezed it reassuringly. The silver furred male squeezed back and Kyuubi felt her blood pressure fall, her anger and fear easing away.

"Get out of my territory and do not return." She said, voice low and deadly. She was calmer now that Naruto's _omai-toh_ had shown up but she could not allow herself to completely relax until the threat was well and truly gone.

"You heard the Lady!" Eiki cried, rubbing his hands together in pure glee. "You have been rejected from our home- that makes you enemy combatants!" Sunlight glinted off his AMBU mask as he leaned down toward the five Lords and Ladies. His voice lost its teasing quality and became low, menacing. "If you do not leave, it means that you are food by forfeit."

Kazuki rubbed at his jaw, the skin bunching slightly as he did so. He made a considering sound. "You know, Naruto needs a good kill. I bet he'd feel pretty good afterward and, being human, he probably wouldn't be able to tell what he was eating."

Brows arched over the cannibalistic turn the conversation had taken, Kyuubi blinked as she wondered if this may be true. She supposed that if they added it to his ramen, Naruto would never notice and they could all be happy- he'd still get to eat his beloved noodles and she wouldn't have to nag him about eating something nutritious. She shook her head to rid herself of such morbid thoughts and turned her attention to Itachi again.

She reached out and cupped the cheek furthest from her, stroking his forehead gently with the pad of her thumb. Concentrating, she channeled chakra through the digit and into the blood seal still staining his brow, watching as it briefly flared with red light before being absorbed by Itachi's pale skin. Seconds later, dark eyes fluttered open and immediately narrowed. He remained still but continued to glare even as she smirked down at him.

"You are my servant." The nine tails told him absently, her gaze already settling on his smooth chest. She tapped the center of his chest twice, hard, then moved out of the way as he sat bolt upright. He inhaled raggedly, hands at his throat as he drew breathe. He began coughing, the dry sound quickly becoming wet and thick as his body began to purge itself of the disease that had been eating him from the inside out.

Now that her task was finished, Kyuubi sighed, sagging as she released her hold on the magical energies she had been controlling. As they swirled around her, reluctant to leave, she thanked them for their aid once more then let herself slump, exhausted. Using her own chakra, she sent out another call and felt a distant tug in response.

"That's disgusting." Shinju said dryly, watching as the brunette turned over and climbed to all fours still hacking and coughing. Thick black liquid began to dribble out between pale fingers and puddle on the ground beneath the Uchiha. The silver haired kitsune winced and, after a quick bow to the nine tails, rose to kneel beside the human. Grimacing in sympathy, the kitsune began patting the other's back lightly to help dislodge more of the substance. Itachi was too busy being sick to push him away.

Kyuubi shrugged, putting her hands in the air to either side. "He was very sick. I promised that I would save his life and that meant healing him all the way." She looked back at the group of visiting dignitaries, taking satisfaction from the looks of horror on their faces as they watched Eiki. If she wasn't mistaken, it looked as if he were miming skinning a large animal while quietly reciting a very gruesome recipe. She frowned and then sighed. "Someone better put a stop to this."

"My thoughts exactly." The voice was very quiet and came from right behind her left shoulder. Eyes widening, her heart suddenly in her throat, Kyuubi turned, knowing that she wasn't going to be fast enough to block with the kunai suddenly in her right hand. By reflex she had pulled it from Naruto's weapons pouch but for all the muscle memory at her fingertips, none of it was going to help.

Distant, as if in a dream, she heard yelling but she couldn't make out who was speaking or what they were saying, her focus solely on blocking the sword heading for her heart. Time seemed to slow and as she watched her kunai heading up to deflect the blade she knew it wasn't going to get there in time. She was just too weak, too slow, too human to defend herself.

Blades flashed and the world exploded in crimson.

* * *

More's Moment:

First off, a heartfelt thank you to everyone who offered name suggestions and/or name translation websites! I truly appreciate your thoughtfulness and, if your feeling a little hurt because you don't see your suggestion, be patient because there are still other characters to be introduced later.

Speaking of characters, we had a bunch introduced in this chapter. Though some writers may have an easy time designing a character, I don't and it took me _**forever**_ to get every one pinned down in appearance. It drove me crazy and I spent a very long time simply staring at my computer screen willing the characters to 'speak' to me.

Don't ask- its weird and even I don't understand it. I just know it works so I don't examine it too closely.

I beat my head against the wall something awful while writing this chapter because juggling so many characters is, quiet frankly, exhausting when you are trying to make them more than one dimensional. Honestly, it's like trying to juggle cups of scalding water without spilling.

Anyway, thank you very much for reading and please let me know what you think!

FYI: Name Translations! Each has been chosen with care and will be explained later.

Moriko- Forest child

Kuri- chestnut

Selene- Greek goddess of the moon

Atarah- crown

Shinju- pearl

Eiki- courage, ardor, high spirits

Kazuki- one or harmony, radiance or shine, hope

Inari- Inari is the god of rice and kitsunes are his servants. On a side note, Inari is neither

male nor female.


	11. Chapter 10: Reunion

A/N: Okay, so nobody cry, scream or panic. Have no fear for your sanity- this is the elusive, incredibly overdue eleventh chapter of Bared Naked and you are not imagining it. Despite what I posted on my profile, I'm postponing rewriting this story before posting new chapters because I deemed it cruel and unusual punishment for everyone who has been patiently (and not so patiently) awaiting this brand spanking new chapter. Please enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter Ten: Reunion**

_The Nine-Tails, the supreme leader of the Kitsune species, stared down in amusement at the sight before her, openly laughing at the lone kitsune standing against her and her army. He was in his hybrid form, displaying qualities of both kitsune and human, and across his back was the emblem for his –now dead- company, the crowned phoenix. A mere five tails, the kitsune glared up at her but the act of defiance would probably have been more effective if his life blood hadn't been slowly bleeding out through the wounds of all shapes and sizes littering the small, hunching form. The injuries bled freely as he panted for breath, bright crimson footprints trailing behind him showing the wobbly route he had traveled into the room and probably also marked the path he had taken to here as fast as possible._

"_So, little soldier, as the last survivor of your company, will you choose to join me of your own free well or do I just make you a puppet?"_

_The Tenko laughed, and so did all the other kitsunes assembled in the clearing, some out of genuine amusement, some out of fear, save the soldiers directly surrounding the Nine-Tails. This section remained eerily silent and the lack of sound and movement drew more attention to the group than any sign ever could. Implying the threat better than anything else ever could._

_Dejection weighed heavily upon the five-tail's already slumping shoulders as it looked into the lifeless eyes of the Tenko's new collection of personal guards, the pale faces staring blankly ahead sightlessly. He felt tears prickle, its sight blurring as it automatically began matching faces with names, of recognizing the scents of each individual underneath the cloying odor of… being no more. The five-tails swallowed back the bitter bile and anger rising in his throat, the memories of the once lively group forever sullied._

"_Do you like them?" The Nine-Tails asked, idly reaching a paw out to stroke a claw delicately over the back of one of her guards. Karasu, the infamously stubborn leader of company two, didn't react in the slightest to the fondling, the two headed dragon symbol she had once been so proud of now soiled and ragged, bloodstained by some wound that could not be seen. "They refused to follow me initially but, as you can see, I've… swayed them to my way of thinking. Now they're my perfectly obedient servants."_

_Because the dead were far beyond any capacity to care about the affairs of the living._

_Rage built up within the Five-Tails. Their Tenko had slaughtered all potential replacements should she be removed from power, had stolen their lives, ripped out their souls and denied their flesh peace. She had destroyed their honor and tarnished the honor of kitsunes everywhere all to satisfy her insatiable greed and lust for power! This was not what Inari had intended and could not be allowed to continue!_

"_You are not my Tenko." The Five-Tails was close to collapse but his voice and his outrage was clear, and the words carried easily over all assembled._

_The audience chamber fell silent and a wave of fear washed over them all, eddying around and gaining momentum to become an almost tangible film in the air, creating a kind of feedback loop that only made things worse. The kitsunes forced to bear witness to the Tenko's conquest of the last holdout were all afraid, all so very afraid and the room stank with, overwhelming and their collective senses until they could feel nothing else. _

"_What?" This was no longer amusing to the Nine-Tails and that one word cracked like a whip through the room, holding the promise of severe punishment for the offender or for whoever she decided to vent her anger on. As if to drive this point home, the Tenko's paw stretched and elongated into something vaguely humanoid and she wrapped those long fingers absently around one of her silent guards, squeezing as the silence stretched and the fear built. _

"_You are not my Tenko!" The Five-Tails yelled, incensed as his fury snowballed. The other members of his unit were dead, sacrificed for his protection so that he could report news from the frontlines. They had been overwhelmed, the humans were being slaughtered by the Hounds, and all of it had been planned by one of the very Pillars charged with keeping everyone safe. His company… his friends… sacrificed as pawns for this __**farce**__._

_He could not let it end here, could not let such an atrocity stand. He was the last holdout, the last kitsune remaining barrier of defiance, and he had to try to stop this. He glared at the Nine-Tails and prayed, prayed long and hard not to her but for Inari to give him the strength needed, for the god to step in and stop this fiasco before there was nothing left-! _

_But no sign appeared and he felt no different than he had before praying. There would be no divine intervention to stop the insanity; just one single dying kitsune against the supposed living embodiment of their deity._

_Hidden behind the Tenko's fingers, there was an audible snap as bones popped under pressure and a gush of red fountained forth from between those long, cruel fingers to puddle on the floor as Karasu was finally allowed peace. _

_Something brushed against the defiant kitsune's cheek, a gentle caress that reassured him, easing all doubts, telling him that he was not wrong in his conclusions. This was not Inari's way and he had to do what he could while he could before he, too, ventured to the Great Den after Karasu's freed soul. Bidding the spirit thanks and praying for its safe journey, the five tails forced himself to stand at his full height, ignoring the resulting pain as he did so, and in the back of his mind, he silently began reciting the Final Prayer in preparation, his training automatically kicking in._

~Inari, who guides our souls from the Great Den, I beg you to guide me to sit at your side in your sanctuary … ~

_The Five-Tailed kitsune, his true name now lost to history, stared up at the Nine Tails and screamed wordlessly, a tortured sound that seemed to come from deep within the figure as it gave voice to the emotions roiling inside him. There was rage and agony, fear and despair and all of that came spilling forth as the defiant figure managed to form words of power, suddenly glowing brilliantly like a star fallen to earth. "I renounce you! You are not my Tenko! You are not Inari's chosen!" _

~… to allow me to run in the forests where there is never any hunger, where there is no thirst, where there is no want or fear or loneliness …~

_Pulling his twin swords_, _he charged her, the equivalent of a light bulb taking on a sun, and prayed with everything he had as the _**false god**_ retaliated, sending _**her**_ puppets to stop him. As he cut through the bodies of friends, of playmates from childhood, he prayed, for his people, for Inari to protect them from _**her**_ and from themselves, for Inari to not abandon his servants due to the action of one no matter how heinous. They had been without a proper guide for _so_ long that they had gotten lost on the path He had laid out generations and wars and countless deaths ago-_

~…Where all are welcome, where all are happy, where there is only play and laughter and love until the Great Ending of the Cycle…~

_-More wounds, more lost blood, his vision cluttered with gray shapes that would not go away even as he bared his teeth. He cut and he hacked recklessly, chest heaving for breath as he fought through to _**her- **

~…Please guide me, Inari, to that place when my soul is freed from the confines of my mortal body…~

_-There was a blow, a searing, blinding blow and he stumbled to the side, his nervous system belatedly registering that he suddenly only had one arm-_

~…Because I fear that I will be unable to find it on my own. Amen.~

_Another hit and then crushing weight as the __**thing**__ grabbed him, squeezing the breath from his lungs, the life from his body. He gasped uselessly, choking, eyes rolling and as his heart beat raced in his ears, he remembered a portion from The Story That Began All Stories, and it played in his head as the _**false god**_ vented its anger at being defied. _

_And false gods really _hated _being defied. Really, really hated to be defied, and so in her rage she tore him to pieces as she tried to wring a scream from him…_

…but Inari smiled, stroking the fox spirit's ear tenderly, and all at once she could _see_ it, see the peaceful place he described and feel that the concepts of _pain _or _fear_ were foreign and indeed unheard of there. Warmth stole over her, begging her to walk forward toward the sanctuary her god had created for his servants, but the kitsune remained firm and sat on the cold ground that made up the bed of earth for what had been her body.

…_But the Five-Tails resisted her to the end, never giving her the satisfaction, and laughed in her face until the last breath left his body. In the black that overtook his vision, light blossomed, and he knew intuitively that he was seeing a place that did not exist in this realm, that existed separately from the struggles of reality. Distantly he could make out familiar shapes waving at him, familiar faces that he knew were gone, whose bodies he had witnessed become still and silent, but were now whole and clean and __**smiling**_**!**

_With a final pull, he was free from the body of flesh he had inhabited for so many Cycles, and for a moment he was nearly overcome by the sudden sense of loss that pervaded him over this fact. But then that sadness was overcome, swept away as the joyous urge to run filled him, and then he was running, reaching for the others and the only thought left was 'Home!'_

***

Kisame studied the tower before him with a frown, idly running his thumb over the small decorative skull at the end of Samehada's hilt. He had calmed enough on his way over here to not recklessly launch into an attack on the building immediately in an effort to finish his lone task and return to his partner and so the missing nin stood, examining his target.

In the middle of nowhere, outwardly there was nothing remarkable about it other than the fact that paper talismans had been strung at regular intervals all along the outer walls, indicating that it was obviously meant to be some sort of prison. A very special prison if the seals were any indication, Kisame decided with a snort. Some of the jutsus were simply chakra suppressing or chakra absorbing but there were some that were more intricate, ones that Kisame was not familiar with, and he puzzled over them in a brief indulgence of curiosity.

Not that it mattered since, in a few seconds none of it would exist but he former Mist ninja continued to stare at the elaborate talismans, brows furrowing at the complicated Sanskrit writing until a nasty smile lit his features. He recognized one of the characters and he stared at the scrawling symbol for demon, smiling toothily. No wonder the Kyuubi wanted this place gone- Konoha had created a place to safely lock it away. He walked forward and carefully peeled one of the talismans off, ignoring the bite and sting of electricity as it arched across tower's surface in response, trying to drive him away. He ignored the pain as he worked and, when he finished, Kisame carefully rolled the seal up, tucking it safely into an inner pocket of his cloak.

Stepping back, Kisame put his hands together and used one of his most destructive jutsus to destroy the building, leaving only small pieces of rubble in its place. What remained of the talismans were worthless now, the ink running in illegible streams as water soaked into the stiff paper, and, task complete, the former Mist ninja walked away to retrieve the bag Kyuubi had ordered him to take with him. Why the hell he had had to take kittens on this mission, Kisame didn't understand, and he hefted the bag roughly, unable to suppress his disdain over being ordered about.

A tugging sensation in his chest caught his attention, making him pause mid step and put a hand over the spot where the feeling seemed to originate. Rubbing vigorously for several moments did nothing to relieve the feeling and Kisame frowned irritably, growling to himself about it as he began moving back the way he had come in an attempt to ease the sense of urgency abruptly plaguing him.

***

Kyuubi had been right about her inability to defend herself and her kunai went spinning, embedding itself an inch from Kazuki's left ear in the trunk of a tree where he stood on the other side of the small clearing.

The bite of the blade was sharp and immediate and the Nine-Tails allowed herself the wince that crossed her features as the dagger impaled her palm, her barrowed body's long fingers instinctively covering the shallow hand guard to grasp it firmly and use it as a hand hold to disarm her attacker. Forcing chakra into her legs, ignoring the pain that lanced upward from her knees and ankles suddenly being forced to move after such a long period of staying stationary, Kyuubi leapt backwards out of reach while yanking the stolen dagger from her wounded hand. The adrenaline pumping through her system muted the resulting pain, allowing her to concentrate on the individual as she surreptitiously worked her joints in preparation for a lot of wear and tear.

The identity of her attacker was hidden beneath the oversized hood of the long coat he wore and the rest of the protective clothing adorning his hands and feet. By scent alone she knew he was male and the feel of the energy spilling out from his body and the quickness of his movements as he pulled another weapon from his back screamed that that he was a kitsune. No human, even a shinobi, moved that fast, not without chakra helping the movement along. The new dagger glittered in the sunlight, catching the light and making it dance as the wielder whirled it with long practiced ease. His blade, she realized, was identical to the one she had just taken from him moments earlier, the markings decorating the hilts written in the Old Language that had once long ago been the common tongue of this land.

"I declare single combat!" Kyuubi hissed, catching movement from Kazuki and Eiki out the corner of her eye. The pair appeared unarmed as they abruptly stopped closing in but that meant nothing since any kitsune worth his or her salt was a master of illusion. "No one interferes until the match is over!"

The Lords and Ladies sat back immediately, giving Kyuubi the sneaking, sad suspicion that they had no qualms about their ruler being killed before their eyes. Even Selene made no protest, no move to intervene or argue, her lovely pale face smoothing out into a blank expression that gave no sense of emotion. Nope, no qualms at all, not even from her former lover. Kyuubi ignored the ache in her heart born from this realization and mentally pushed aside the sense of betrayal gnawing at her.

Naruto's_ omai-toh _understandably were unhappy but they obeyed. Looking vaguely amused, Eiki glanced over the new arrival before turning his attention back to Atarah and the others, while Kazuki remained as he was, calm and focused as he scanned their surroundings. Frowning, his irritation evident, Shinju kept his hands on Itachi, absently petting the brunet to keep his hands busy while the coming fight played out. There was no guarantee that the trio wouldn't simply jump in if it looked like she was losing and this fact was both irritating and comforting as Kyuubi squared off across from her opponent, remaining still as she concentrated on her attacker, keeping her grip on her sword loose as she looked for potential openings.

"No magic." And again the hooded kitsune's voice was quiet, giving no hint or clue as to his emotional state. It was empty, dead. A killing voice. "Just the blade we each hold as we begin."

"Deal!" Kyuubi said with false cheer, giving a mock salute with the tip of her weapon, adrenaline already flooding her system, filling her with a false sense of invincibility.

A heartbeat later, they were both moving, both ducking and weaving with inhuman speed as their blades clashed, the swords seeming to sing as metal collided in blow after blow.

***

"Sakura, there's nothing in this direction but the Forbidden Zone!" Naruto said, having to hurry to keep up with the determined kunoichi. "If we go any further, we'll run into ANBU. We should try another direction."

"No!" Sakura said, landing on a branch and whirling suddenly to face him, shoving a finger so fast into his face that only the blonde's quick reflexes kept her from nearly taking his eye out. "Sasuke is out here somewhere! We've been going around in circles and this is the only place left to search!" Near tears, she turned and cupped her hands over her mouth to magnify her voice as she began shouting. "Sasuke! Sasuke, can you hear me?! SASUKE!"

"Sakura…" Naruto put a hand to his head and prayed for patience, realizing that, as wound up as she was currently, there was no getting through to his teammate. It was difficult to process the possibility that they could have lost the Uchiha so soon after just getting him back. Naruto felt a pang in his heart at the thought and swallowed hard before shaking the thoughts away. Sasuke was missing, but so were Hinata and Neji, and perhaps running into the ANBU would help Sakura put things in perspective, like that not only was Sasuke a priority.

"Forget the Uchiha!" Kiba yelled, landing beside him with Akamaru. Dismounting from the dog, the brunet cupped his hands over his mouth and began shouting as well. "Hinata, Hinata are you here? HIN-_AH_ -Taahhhhh!"

Landing beside Naruto, Lee began to lift his hands to his mouth and the blonde quickly grabbed him from behind, covering the taijutsu master's mouth firmly before the other could begin shouting as well.

"Stop, stop! Screaming won't do any good!" Naruto yelled at the other two. "If they'd have been able to answer us then they would have done it long before now!"

"He's hurt." Sakura said, looking desperate. "I mean, they're hurt." She added hastily after a glare from the males with her. "Or are otherwise unable to communicate with us. We should divide the search area and split up into two groups to systematically cover it al-mphf!"

Her instructions were unceremoniously cut off by Naruto's hand as it abruptly covered her mouth, his other hand already pinning her arms tightly to her side. She struggled, outrage clear, and Naruto released her, ignoring the unpleasant threats she hissed as he listened and watched for the fast approaching presence he could feel heading their way. Kiba and Lee apparently felt it too and both took fighting stances beside Naruto as they all stared in the appropriate direction, kunai at the ready.

It was difficult to tell who was more surprised when the foliage parted and the team of genin came face to face with Kisame Hoshigaki. The missing ninja landed gracefully one branch short of their position and frowned at them all, one hand hovering near his sword hilt while the other drifted toward the bag hanging at his side.

There was a silent moment as both sides considered each other but the second was quickly broken by Sakura.

"What have you done with the others?" She demanded, with what Naruto considered overdramatic flare. The kunoichi used the kunai she held to gesture at Kisame defiantly. "Tell us where they are and we'll go easy on you!"

Naruto, Kiba and Lee stared at her in naked disbelief. Had she lost her _**mind?**_

Oddly, Kisame seemed to be wondering the same thing and the former Mist ninja looked at the other young males for confirmation as he attempted to conquer a sneer that kept quirking at the corners of his wide mouth.

Somehow, S-class missing ninja or not, the Akatsuki member's expression _**really**_ pissed the blond off.

"Y, yeah!" Naruto said loudly, stepping forward, one hand already inside his belt pouch. "Tell us where they are and I won't kick your ass from here to Wind Country!" Turning his head and moving his hand to hide his mouth from the enemy, he instructed the others. "I'll keep him busy here while you go search behind him. If he has Hinata and the others, then they can't be far away!"

"Right." Kiba said, Akamaru seconding it with an enthusiastic bark.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Lee asked. "Perhaps two on one would be better…"

"We have to assume that the others are hurt and unable to travel on their own." Naruto said harshly, never looking away from Kisame. "Otherwise they would have attempted to contact us by now or escaped. If I'm wrong then one of you can hurry back to help but if I'm right, all of you are gonna need to be there to help carry them! When I attack, get going and don't stop!"

"But-"

"Relax, Sakura!" He turned and grinned at her, winking cheekily. "I'm a one man army- there's no way this goon can beat me!"

"I don't have time to play, brats!" Kisame said, irritation evident. He had a hand on Samehada's hilt but hadn't yet pulled the sword. "Why don't you-"

Naruto launched himself at the missing nin, a blur of orange that forced Kisame to keep moving to avoid the high kicks and solid punches directed at him.

"Go! Go, now!" The blond yelled when he realized his teammates hadn't moved. Despite their doubtful expressions, his voice seemed to startle them into movement and all three quickly vanished among the trees. When he could sense them no longer, Naruto ceased his assault on the former Mist ninja and leapt away to put distance between them.

"Give it up, kid." Kisame said, making a dismissive gesture with his hand. "You don't have a chance against me and we both know it so why don't you go play elsewhere?"

"I wanna know where you got that bag." Naruto said without permeable, gritting his teeth against the immediate urge to retaliate at the jibe. He kept his gaze on Kisame's face but in his peripheral vision he saw that the contents of the bag in question were moving.

"Knock it off, fuzzballs!" Kisame hissed suddenly, reaching inside the bag and pulling out a furry clawing mass.

Naruto gaped, then jabbed a finger at the missing ninja having a staring match with the growling feline. "Is that one of my kittens?! What are you doing with my kittens? Where am I if you have my kittens, damn it!?"

"Shut up! If you want them, you can have them." Without warning, Kisame chucked the kitten he held at the blonde and Naruto had to scramble to catch the terrified feline before it could fall to its death.

"It's okay, little one, shh." He cooed, recognizing and cuddling the blue furred female. Upon finding herself in his hands, she immediately began purring and crawled up onto his shoulder, working herself deeper into the juncture between his neck and shoulder. "Yeah, I'm glad to see you to- AH! Stop you monster!"

Pinning the female with his chin, Naruto had to drop his weapons and used both hands to catch the two other kittens abruptly sent sailing through the air toward him. Catching them awkwardly, terrified that he would drop them, the blonde clasped the pair to his chest protectively, cradling them as he cursed at Kisame. "You bastard! How could you do that to three defenseless- Hey, get back here, Asshole!"

Quickly securing the three kittens inside his jacket, Naruto automatically followed after the fleeing missing ninja, intent on getting answers about not only the kittens but also about the seal etched into Kisame's forehead.

***

The swords chimed one more time, hitting a pure high note that marked the end of the dance before one blade went spinning in a wide arch, burying itself deep in the ground a hair's width from Atarah's knees.

"I win." Kyuubi said, panting, letting her ragged voice echo with malice as it washed over them all, daring any of them to challenge her lawful victory. She didn't dare take her eyes off her enemy, trusting Naruto's _omai-toh_ to keep her safe from unseen attacks as she kept her attention focused on the body a twitch away from being impaled by her sword. She had to struggle to control her breathing, to keep it even and hide the fact that she was completely out of breath. "I have defended my right to hold this territory against challengers and as its ruler, I order the lot to leave! You have exceeded your welcome by leaps and bounds and if you are not gone in five seconds, I will remove your heads."

They all began talking at once, becoming an irritating cacophony of noise as they attempted to drown each other out. In her peripheral vision, she could see Kazuki wince and Eiki clamp his hands over his ears. Unable to afford showing such weakness Kyuubi nonetheless wished that she could do the same.

"_**SILENCE!**_" Fed up, she held up a hand to forestall any further comments from them. Remarkably, the gesture worked and in the quiet that followed, she turned to look at the hooded kitsune. "My attacker, do you yield?"

On the ground, keeping his hands in plain view, her opponent nodded shallowly and carefully around the tip of Kyuubi's sword would allow.

"Not good enough." Kyuubi growled. "Let me hear the words of your surrender or I will impale you. I have no mercy left for anyone today."

His voice was steady as he spoke. "I yield to you, great and honorable Kyuubi, and surrender both my flesh and spirit into your service."

Satisfied, Kyuubi handed back the sword but did not offer him a hand up, instead leaving him on the floor as she walked away to deal with her 'guests,' pleased that he remained on the ground.

"Return to your Families and prepare them for travel. Head for the Land of Sacrifice and present yourself to the vessel of Shukaku for inspection. Do not sneak into his territory- he will know and he will have no problem throwing you out…"

"Then we will remove him from power." Atarah cut her off, and something in his expression said that he would be happy to do it.

Kyuubi smiled sweetly at him and let all the barely controlled rage rising within her show. "Then I will rip you limb from limb and leave your Family to fend for themselves as the humans destroy the world around them. We will all be watching from the safety of the Fortress. Have a good time."

Atarah's lips compressed into a thin line as his face paled considerably and sweat began to gather at his temples.

"Anyone else want to comment on what they will or will not do to Gaara? Anyone?" Kyuubi looked at them all and, though the Lords glared mutinously, they and the two Ladies remained blessedly silent.

"Excellent!" She said brightly before her voice dropped several octaves and became nothing but menace. "Now, you will all go and present yourself to Shukaku's kit and remain in his lands until I bid you entrance into the Land that Dances like Flames in the Sunset. That is all. This audience is at an end now get the fuck out of my territory. "

The Lords and Ladies stood and stiffly bowed low, disgruntlement over being dismissed so crudely wafting from them like a bad perfume but unable to complain about it. Kyuubi wrinkled her nose as she watched them go, unwilling to take her eyes off them even for a moment as bitter anger curled in her gut. She had proven that, even in this form, she could still defend herself against another kitsune warrior, that she could still manipulate magic effectively, that she still had the will and power to turn them all into pretzels at her whim. She had shown that she was still in Inari's favor and that bought her a lot of leeway that she would have to use carefully as she both secured Kit's safety and tried to mitigate the damage set to take place in the near future.

Kyuubi closed her eyes sadly. _Stupid, stupid humans._

"Tenko?"

Opening her eyes, the Nine Tails realized that, though the others had obeyed her command, one certain dark haired kitsune had not. Kyuubi immediately felt suspicious of this development, especially when Selene smiled at Kyuubi as she glided over, her movements more graceful than any dancer who had ever lived. Selene was mystery and sexuality given life and, though a wary Kyuubi knew of the other's tricks intimately, the Nine Tails could not help but watch, captivated as the dark haired kitsune put a little extra sway in her step, drawing attention to her slim waist and wide hips, prompting Kyuubi to think of other things…other ideas…

Like that time in the villa by the beach in Greece, back when such a country had existed. They'd made love from dusk till dawn, the sound of the waves crashing against the shore as background music while the moon watched overhead. In the rare instances they went out, they'd been treated as gods, revered by the humans, living in harmony, happy and content as they reveled in one another.

Kyuubi felt a peculiar swelling sensation accompanied by an uncomfortable tightening in her pants and, after a perplexing moment, discovered that her wandering thoughts had caused Naruto's body to physically react. Distracted by the realization that now the Nine Tails could quite literally burry herself deeply inside Selene, Kyuubi took an eager step forward inwardly pleased as Selene's smile widened enticingly, pale arms opening in invitation

And just like that, Kyuubi's world narrowed down to Selene and Selene only. The Nine Tails felt small warning flickers of pain flash through her body as she moved toward the dark haired kitsune but the sensations were immediately dismissed. Nothing else mattered except Selene and getting to her and doing anything she wanted…

Hands suddenly ghosted over Kyuubi's cheeks teasingly just as Shinju's violet eyes entered her field of vision, instantly dimming Selene's sensual pull though Kyuubi could still feel it clinging to her. The adrenaline from the battle and the rush of endorphins from being victorious just seemed to feed the arousal Selene had awoken, making any thought beyond engaging in some sort of sexual act difficult. Shinju wasn't helping either as he closed the small gap between their bodies, pressing against the blonde and letting Kyuubi know that he was ready to consummate his position as one of Naruto's _omai-toh. _

He was taller than Naruto by several inches but still came up to the blonde's chin when he dropped to his knees, ensuring that Kyuubi did not have to look down too far as she gazed down at him, a flush of warmth tingling along her skin as his fingers traced a path along her jaw line. He smiled up at her gently, a small glimpse of teeth flashed demurely up at her to gain attention, just before warm lips pressed against Kyuubi's collarbone, the small touch making her shudder slightly. One kiss was followed by another, then another, and soon a line of kisses traced a hot line from Naruto's collarbones up to his chin and across the underside of his jaw.

Shinju flicked his tongue out, running it quickly over her bottom lip, doing it again more firmly when Kyuubi made a noise low in her throat and tried to capture his lips. The eight tails stayed just out of reach, though, and it became a game between them, a game the Nine Tails was determined to win.

"That's as far as you go." Kyuubi heard Kazuki say and she automatically turned her head to watch him step in front of an unhappy Selene who had been headed in Kyuubi's direction. As the brunet attempted to pass him, he unceremoniously lifted her over one broad shoulder, holding her there briefly before tipping her backward and allowing her to drop to the floor in a heap. "Tenko told you to leave and you will. Whether you do so under your own power is the only question remaining."

Before any kind of concern or pity could take root inside Kyuubi at the sight, Shinju banished them by claiming Naruto's lips, his tails wrapping possessively around her waist and suddenly Kyuubi couldn't find the energy to be bothered about Selene anymore.

"We should find a den." Shinju whispered, licking at her chin to gain her attention once more. The sounds of a scuffle rose from the direction Kyuubi had just been looking in but Shinju turned her away before she could see what the problem was. "Bespelling the Tenko is quite a feat, even for Selene, and Eiki will enjoy reminding her that such things are unforgivable. Ignore them for now and Let us find a place of safety so that Naruto and I can continue this in private without an audience."

"Audience?" Kyuubi repeated blankly as she pulled at the straps of his light armor. She blinked rapidly, knowing that she should recognize the word and bothered that she couldn't, not with Shinju's scent in her nose, his hands on her skin, and the pounding beat of her heart drowning out all thought.

"You said you were going to heal him!" If the new voice was not enough of a mood killer, the one that came next definitely did the trick.

"I said stop, asshole! Now tell me… Oh gross! Knock it off Kyu!"

Yup, nothing like being caught making out by your Kit to bank the fires of lust.

Kyuubi pushed at Shinju and the kitsune obediently stepped away, giving her space to calm herself as she struggled to come to her senses. Looking upward, she spotted the pair high above on a tree limb, Kisame wearing an expression of anger, Naruto one of horror as he blushed from his neck all the way to the roots of his hair.

"I have upheld my side of the bargain to the letter." The Nine Tails drawled, frowning at Kisame before shifting her attention to the young blonde. "Kit, why are you here? Did you not go out to help look for the missing Hyuugas?"

"Hello Naruto! What's this about the Hyuugas?" Eiki asked, coming with Kazuki to stand near Shinju. "Little Hina-chan and Ne-chan have been abducted?"

The orange eyed kitsune was absently wiping at blood on his claws but he paused to give Shinju an exuberant thumb's up sign that made the Nine Tails arch a brow. With a start, the Nine Tails realized that, not only was Selene mysteriously absent, but so too was the Hound's carcass, and the fox quickly looked around to find them, unsure if she should feel pleased over either fact. Disconcerted, she looked at the ground and found that all traces of her battle with the beast had disappeared; even the shirt she had stripped off was gone.

"Stop calling them that." Kyuubi muttered automatically, eyeing Eiki briefly before returning her gaze to Kisame and Naruto's clone, following the pair as they leapt to the ground not far from her current position. "But yes, Hinata and Neji are missing, as is the newly returned Sasuke Uchiha."

There was a collective growl from the assembled kitsunes at the name before they all spit on the ground in disgust. The gesture was not lost on Kyuubi but she could not fault the others for their continued anger and contempt of the massacred clan, so she ignored their behavior as she watched Kisame head for the Uchiha.

"Are plans being made to find the missing kits?" Shinju asked, his brow puckered in thought. It was an expression he wore often and, if he had been human, there would have been tell tale wrinkles marring the smooth pearl-like skin. "We have not spotted them among the festival traffic going out of the city-"

"Did you give the kittens to this maniac?!" 'Naruto' stormed over indignantly, interrupting their conversation, his hands occupied with balancing the three squirming felines on his shoulders.

Kyuubi ruffled his hair once he was close enough, her hand trailing to pet the kittens in turn."I asked him to take care of them briefly, yes, as he carried out a mission for me."

"Hey guys. What kind of mission?" The clone asked suspiciously, eyeing her up and down briefly before turning to nod at the three kitsunes smiling at him. He looked around the clearing, his eyebrows shooting into his hairline as he noticed the hooded kitsune laying on the ground and the two Akatsuki members. "And who's that on the ground? And_**- Oh, my God!**_- is that Itachi U-mphf! "

"No," Kyuubi interrupted, firmly clamping a hand over the clone's mouth before it could reveal the brunet's identity. "That is my new servant…uh…"

The clone arched a brow, waiting for her to say a name, and Kyuubi mentally cursed for not considering this situation earlier. Looking over her shoulder, the Nine Tails looked at the Uchiha as she considered a list of potential names before finally settling on one, feeling it take hold the moment the new name left her lips. "Raven. His name is Raven."

'Naruto' pulled her hand away and pointedly rolled his eyes at her choice. "Well, that's original. What's his name? Sharky?"

The blonde was pointing at Kisame and the former Mist ninja threw a glare at them as he continued to tend to Itachi. As they watched, the taller of the two pulled a blue handkerchief from his coat and began cleaning the Uchiha's face. Kyuubi sucked on her lower lip, considering their interaction before speaking. "No. His name is Fluffy."

"_Fluffy?!_" Naruto promptly doubled over, clutching his middle as he laughed hysterically, the kittens leaping to the ground as he did so.

"Tenko," Shinju said smoothly during the lull in conversation. "We should get out of the open before anything else occurs. We have been lucky thus far but this is an area that the ANBU patrol frequently."

Kyuubi pinched the bridge of her nose, shoulders slumping as her energy began to ebb. The day's events were beginning to take their toll and she would need to rest as soon as possible or else run the risk of doing permanent damage to Kit's body. Walking over to her previous opponent, Kyuubi offered him a hand, barely suppressing a pained groan as she hauled him to his feet, then began helping him clean up, roughly brushing grass from the back of his coat.

When she had finished, Kyuubi swept her gaze over everyone in the clearing, dusting her hands off absently. "Naruto, when you are done laughing, head back to Sakura and the others. Everyone else, we're going underground."

"What about the kittens?" Naruto whined as Kazuki patted the blonde's head affectionately, making the blonde's wild hair even wilder.

"They will be remaining with me." Kyuubi said, looking down at the animals in question, frowning over the fact that, once again, it seemed that the brown furred kitten and grey tabby were fighting. Irritated, she addressed the felines, startling the pair into jumping away from one another. "What the hell is your problem? Since we got outside all you do is fight with each other!"

She bent to pick them up but stopped immediately when the movement made her feel dizzy. Abruptly straightening only compounded the sensation and Kyuubi felt herself reeling backward, still trying to balance even as her knees turned to rubber. Wind-milling her arms did nothing to help her maintain her balance and, feeling resigned, the Nine Tails mentally cursed as she closed her eyes in preparation for her imminent meeting with the floor.

She was caught before she could hit the earth and Kyuubi relaxed into the arms that gently cradled her, easily holding her weight. By scent alone she knew who had caught her and the blonde mumbled a thanks to Kazuki as the kitsune adjusted his grip to something more comfortable.

"You need to eat more." He commented, looking down at her and frowning thoughtfully, hefting her again to gauge her weight. There was no tension in his muscles as he did it, no change in his breathing to indicate that he was exerting himself in any way. Kazuki could hold her like this for the next week if she asked him to and still give no sign of strain.

"What I _**need**_ to do is go lay down." Kyuubi muttered, putting a hand to her head as she laid it against Kazuki's chest. Kit's spirit was beginning to stir, disturbed by the fight and the stress from the audience with the others. Once he was awake he would instinctually usurp her control over his body and it was possible that she may not get another chance to speak again before… Before. Hoping that Naruto would forgive her, she erected several barriers to insulate him from any more outside stimuli and hopefully prevent him from awaking any further.

"H, hey, Kyu, are you alright?" The voice was hesitant and Kyuubi blinked as she turned her face toward the speaker, finding herself looking into the worried blue eyes of Kit's clone. She reached out and gently ruffled his hair, smiling at him fondly. Her kit, given to her after her true offspring had been slain, sacrificed by his human father to save a worthless village from her grief fueled rage.

_I'll protect you._ Kyuubi promised silently, feeling determined. _I will not forfeit your life for another's gain. You are not expendable and, as much as I am able, I will protect you._ "I'll be okay after I have a rest but first I have to figure out what we are going to do about the many problems currently standing in our path."

The clone had gathered up the kittens that thankfully no longer seemed to be fighting; instead they all seemed to be staring at her with an incredible level of intensity not normally seen in felines. It was interesting and vaguely unsettling.

"Fluffy!" Kyuubi called, ignoring the clone's immediate snort of smothered laughter. "Help Raven up and get over here."

"Honestly, Kyu." 'Naruto' complained once he had recovered. "I know he's got dark hair but couldn't you have picked something else? Raven? Really?"

"I don't think it's due to his coloring, Naru-chan." Eiki suddenly appeared next to the clone and draped an arm around it's shoulders, steering the other until they were both looking at the person in question. "The raven plays many roles in stories and legends. He is both hero and villain sometimes driven by greed, sometimes by noble intentions that only he is privy to. Tenko has a habit of choosing names for her servants based on what she sees in their soul- not the traits of the shell surrounding it."

"Okay." The clone nodded then jutted out its lower lip, brow furrowing as he looked at Kisame. The former Mist ninja looked surly and downright homicidal as he approached them, one muscular blue arm around the Uchiha to provide support as the pair walked over. "So explain him then. What does she see in him to give him such a cute and cuddly name?"

Eiki blinked and pulled away from the clone to walk wide around the subject of their scrutiny. Kisame kept a watchful eye on the circling kitsune, pulling Itachi closer against his side protectively until the pale haired eight-tails returned to his previous position.

"Dunno!" Eiki shrugged carelessly in a 'who knows?' manner, shaking his head before smiling broadly. At the clone's frustrated groan, the kitsunes winked and placed a quick kiss on the teen's cheek, dancing out of the way as 'Naruto' took a swing at him.

"If everyone is finished," Kyuubi drawled, trying to contain a smile as she watched the blushing clone scrub at the cheek Eiki had kissed. "We do have things to do and not a lot of time to do them in. Naruto, help search for the others but be careful and stay out of sight as much as you can." Reaching out to grasp his shoulder, she pulled him back to her and kissed his forehead, ignoring the resulting indignant squawk. Releasing her grip on the clone, she herded the kittens off him and onto her stomach, firmly forcing them to lay down before running a hand through the clone's hair again. "Please be careful."

The clone looked at her solemnly for a second before he smiled, showing all his teeth as he grinned broadly, one hand scratching absently at the back of his head. "Leave it to me, Kyu! I'll find the others and make it through the holiday! In fact, I'll be the one to say 'welcome home' to you once everything calms down! Believe it!"

"It's a date, then." Kyuubi smiled but it hurt her doubt filled heart to do so. "I'll see you at week's end when we'll properly celebrate your birthday."

With a wink and a smile, 'Naruto' saluted at her then turned to walk away but stopped short to pivot on heel and thrust a finger in Kisame's face, nearly loosing the digit when the missing ninja snapped sharp teeth at it. "Throw the kittens again, _**Fluffy**_, and I'll personally break your arms!"

"Try it, pipsqueak, and I'll use them as moving target practice!" Kisame growled, threateningly.

"Only if you still have arms." Eiki said. He smiled as he spoke but the threat was unmistakably there and real since any of the kitsunes present could literally rip the appendages off. The only question at that point would be if Kisame died by bleeding out from the wounds or by being beaten by the severed limbs.

The clone smirked in victory at the Akatsuki member before departing, swallowed by the foliage as he leapt from tree branch to tree branch.

"So that's what he's like normally." Someone said quietly and Kyuubi craned her neck until she could see the speaker. The voice was no longer flat or dead but filled with curiosity.

"You have seen him before, Håvard." Kyuubi said, puzzled over the comment. "You are my Right Hand, charged with enforcing my will throughout my territory, and I have sensed you nearby when Kit travels. Have you honestly never spoken with him?"

Håvard shook his head, the movement mostly lost due to the hood hiding his face from view. "A shadow does not talk to its master; it merely follows in their wake."

No sooner has he finished that statement then there was a thin blade pressed against where Kyuubi approximated her self-appointed shadow's jugular to be.

"So, a shadow cannot talk to its master," Shinju stated, baring his teeth as he forced his prisoner to arch backwards, baring more of his throat to the blade. "But it's perfectly okay to attack them?"

"Maybe he got confused," Eiki offered, and though he continued to smile pleasantly there was nothing remotely friendly about his tone. The pale kitsune wasn't bothering to hide his bloodlust, making it plain that he wanted to hurt the other kitsune.

"It was the most efficient way to demonstrate that they should obey Tenko." Though his voice was clearly strained, Kyuubi couldn't tell if it was due to being forced into such an uncomfortable position or from holding back the irritation borne from having his actions questioned.

"So is eating them." Eiki said, still sounding vaguely pleasant as he picked blood out from under the long wicked claws his fingers had transformed into. "It is also a much tastier option than fighting."

"Depends on what type of fighting." Kazuki deadpanned, entering the conversation for the first time and earning a very masculine snort from Eiki and Shinju both.

Kyuubi rolled her eyes and absently stroked the kittens' fur. "Save your dirty jokes for later when kit is around to hear them."

"If you're gonna kill him, then do it fast." Fluffy said, looking above and to the left of where they stood, one hand already on Samehada's hilt. "We have-"

"Hold it, demons!"

"-company." Fluffy finished dryly and the Nine Tails had to ball her fists to stop herself from reaching out and smacking him.

Kazuki slowly lowered Kyuubi to the ground, giving the kittens time to run toward her head and perch on her shoulders. Pain lanced up the blonde's legs the moment her ankles took her weight and she had to scramble to grab hold of something or fall down. Surprisingly, it wasn't one of the kitsunes that came to her rescue but Raven and, despite his own weakened state, the arm he held out to her remained steady as she used it for balance.

"The ANBU have us surrounded." He observed quietly, dark eyes constantly moving. He still had not fully recovered from his wounds but that did not mean he would not fight if needed. Of course, he may have thought that he would slip away during the confusion but, if he or Fluffy tried it, both would receive a very nasty surprise indeed.

But Raven was correct and the already crowded clearing was suddenly overflowing with people both above and below as ANBU arranged themselves on the ground and in the trees to cut off all escape routes. There wasn't just one squad of ANBU, either, and Kyuubi felt her jaw drop as she realized that there had to be at least four complete teams present.

The Nine Tails put a hand to her forehead in an effort to push back the headache forming there. They didn't have time for this! How much of the day had already been wasted? How much longer did she have before Naruto's spirit took control or before Kit's body gave in to the ravages of the damaged seal? The injection she had given herself earlier was, at best, the equivalent of using wads of chewing gum to patch cracks in a leaking dike the size of Sand Country. It was a temporary fix that would not hold out forever.

Time. It waited for no man or kitsune and it always, always seemed to be working against her.

_Inari curse it!_ She mentally snarled, pushing Raven away in her anger as she forced her legs to hold her weight. She cracked her knuckles, the loud pops seeming to echo off the surrounding trees as she glared at the ANBU around them and mentally ran through the spells available in her vast inventory that would disable though not kill the idiots. Choosing one, Kyuubi smirked and instinctively began pulling the energies of the elements around her into her body to power it. With almost vengeful glee, she aggressively stepped forward, opened her mouth to speak the spell and crumpled to the ground as her time abruptly ran out, her precious extension squandered by the events of the afternoon.

Naruto's spirit assumed control and, as she was dragged back to her prison within the jinchuuriki's body, the fox swore she could hear the ticking of a clock echoing around her loudly, the clicking mercilessly consistent.

It was a countdown, noting the passage of each second as Kit's precious life _tick-tick_-_ticked _away.

* * *

A/N (part 2):

Regarding the wait. Despite what some of you may have wondered about ( and I know this is what some of you have feared because I've been getting frequent reviews asking this question), I did not abandon this fic. In fact, that was never a concern since the plot would sneak up on me at random times -like in the shower or during a particularly boring lecture in class or at three o'clock in the freaking morning- and force me to plan out scenes, battles and back histories of characters so that it would all make sense. The problem with such a sandbox plotline is that there are a lot of different endings to choose from and for a while I got stuck trying to figure out which one would be appropriate to the point that my school work suffered. Of course, the latter was also influenced by the fact I was steadfastly attempting to obtain a degree in a subject I sadly am ill suited for. After coming to grips with that, a long disappointing process I assure you, I changed my major and am now in my last undergrad semester so as a warning there may be no chapter 11 for a while depending on how filled my schedule becomes.

Other bionotes: I am an aunt twice over, my significant other is being deployed shortly, and somehow I have become the question and answer person for other associates recently accepted into the university I attend on top of already being the go-to medical person. There's something infinitely entertaining about answering questions and treating cuts while wearing a shirt sarcastically exalting the negative perceptions people have about others. At least I think so anyway but that's just me and not everyone gets my sense of humor, least of all management.

And now a plea:

I know I don't deserve it but I hope that some of you will leave me some reviews about this chapter. Please don't just complain about how long it took for me to post on this story- I am acutely, _**excruciatingly**_,aware that it took forever and do not need to be reminded of that fact. It sounds petty but quite frequently when a site becomes bigger and well known less and less people review which in turn chases away authors. Some of you are wonderful repeat reviews and it may seem as if this is an inconsequential action but it is not- not by a long shot. You wonderful special people most times provide the only insight an author gets and it is highly valued because it gives the author a reference point from chapter to chapter so that, if something isn't working in the story, the writer can find that point and correct mistakes. Personally, it gives me a warm happy feeling when I get a review notification and I recognize the name and this encourages me to work harder on a story even when the review is less than overflowing with praise. It also gives me an early alert to problems and issues in a story (formatting problems, misnaming a character, a section that is completely out of touch with the character/story, etc) that I may have missed when editing or have added last minute in order to flesh out the story. The problem with editing your own works is that I know where I'm going with the story- whether that actually translates or makes sense to someone who doesn't is another matter entirely and without any kind of feedback, it is impossible to know if everyone is following along in the direction I am leading rather than getting lost along the way. Being an avid reader of both fanfiction and books of all genres I hate it when plot lines make no sense. It makes me feel like I have wasted my time and energy investing in a story only to have it bitch slap me with an ending not worth my investment. It's annoying and, in a way, cruel so I try very hard not to do that to you, dear readers, but I have no way of knowing if this is happening _**if no one reviews!!!**_

…Sorry. Was channeling the comedian Lewis Black for a moment there.

I am going to try my best to get another chapter out within the next two months but, again, as mentioned above, that will depend on how much free time I have. But I will try- I'll never get any sleep if I don't.

On a completely separate note, I have recently stumbled across Transformers (2007 movie) fanfiction. If anyone if out there looking for a good Sam/Bee story I highly recommend Conceptions of the Self by ChangeIsJustifiable on . Don't read the description- it's what made me avoid the story like the plague in the first place and I've been kicking myself ever since for just dismissing it out of hand due to the damn thing. The description is just… Just skip right to the first chapter and begin reading, trust me. Another excellent, if quirky, Transformers story can be found on AFF and also on FF.N called Cover Me by BlackDragonQueen.

These storied are _**gems**_ and I highly, highly recommend them.

Hope all is well with all of you and thank you so much for sticking with this story!

Happy tales!


End file.
